Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. This is a long one, but I won't be posting for a while – have some medically whatnots I have to focus on, but I promise you I will come back and finish this story. This story never leaves my head and I have a bunch of stuff I want to get to with our couple. So enjoy! :)
"Love sought is good, but given unsought is better." Twelfth Night, Act 3, Scene 1
Except for the couple of interruptions for C.J. to take her medicine and to put her sling back on, the night was a good one. No bad dreams for either of them. The sunlight was just peeking through, when she awoke to find that Houston wasn't in bed. She looked at the clock, 6:30am. Just about the time the day nurse would need to be let onto the property. She was sorer than she anticipated from her ribs. She went to the bathroom, lifted her blue silk nightgown, to see that the bruises from the car hitting her the previous week were starting to turn that lovely shade of yellow-green. The ones on her ribs, however, were back to deep purple. She realized that she hadn't rewrapped them after their shower last night, and started looking for the Ace bandage when Houston came in.
He was all smiles; his mind hadn't been this clear in ages. It was as if his confession to her last night in the shower and the lovemaking that followed freed him of some unseen burden he had been carrying around. He gave her a cheery, "Good morning, beautiful. Don't worry, I already let Sally and Pecora through the gate." He watched her rummaging through the cupboard, "What are ya' lookin' for?" He couldn't help but note at how beautiful she was, even with no makeup and her hair a bit askew.
She took in a breath, then let it out slowly, "An Ace bandage to wrap my ribs, but I can't seem to…" She had to hold onto the cabinet door to steady herself.
He gently helped her stand, "Here, I'll find it. You sit up here." And he pointed to the counter. He studied her face as she sat down, "Are the lights bothering you?"
She gave a noncommittal shake of the head, then felt the blood rushing from her head, "I think I should lie down."
He helped her to the bed to lie down, then went to look for the bandage. He found it and returned to her, "Do you think you can sit up long enough for me to put it on?" He could tell she was focused on her breathing, so he set the bandage down and laid down on the bed with her. He had to tell her something and knew she wouldn't like it; but there was no way he was going to let her go to the office until she was healed and he wouldn't have to worry about her jumping over the wall again. He was gently stroking her face when he started, "C.J…"
She interrupted, her tone slightly defeated, "I know, Houston." She kept her eyes closed.
Her statement surprised him a little. Could she really read him that well? He asserted, "You don't even know what I was going to say."
She let out a heavy sigh, "That I can't come to the office today or until..." She waved her hand away, "I know, and I understand why." She wasn't at all fond of the idea of waking to find herself on the metal netting again. "I don't like it, but I understand why." She then relished the feeling of his whiskers on her cheek when he leaned over to kiss her. "Are you going out to Cabrillo today?"
"I was thinking about taking Hoyt with me, because if she did get out…" He remembered the crazed look in Erin's blue eyes when she had come into the office and stabbed him then ran out, as well as the look in her eyes when she was about to stab C.J. but he shot her in the hand before she could.
With her eyes still closed, C.J. switched to her attorney tone, "She shouldn't have been let out without warning you first, not to mention she would have then been moved to jail to serve out her sentence for killing the guard." She shook her head a little, "Something's not right with the whole thing, Houston."
"I agree." He kissed her cheek again. "Do you think you're ready to sit up?" She nodded and he helped her to sit with her feet on the floor, then to remove her nightgown. He kneeled on the floor in front of her and got to work. As he wrapped her ribs, he couldn't help but notice the part that wasn't bruised still had a lovely tanned tone, so he inquired, "You ever going to tell me when and where this no-tan-lines sunbathing takes place." He flashed her one of his devilish grins.
She was focused on her breathing, but that made her smile, "Maybe after we're married."
When he leaned in close to reach behind her to pass the bandage from one hand to the other, he gave her a playful kiss on the lips, then stated, "Speaking of which, we need to pick a date. Do you have one in mind? I was thinking Thanksgiving." He wanted to marry her sooner, rather than later.
When he leaned in again, she kissed him a little longer then debated, "Hmmm, we do have a lot to be thankful for, but that seems a little too soon to get a church lined up and for people to be able to come."
He was going to say that she pulled off his wedding to Elizabeth in less time, but then thought better of it. "We don't have to have a lot of people there." He kissed her again, this time on the neck.
As he kissed, she moaned softly, then asked, "Do you really think Mama and Vince would ever forgive us for not inviting them? Not to mention the folks back in Texas."
He paused his kiss long enough to pull back and look her in the eyes, "No, I suppose you're right." Then he captured her mouth in another, longer and deeper, kiss as he finished wrapping the bandage. He only stopped kissing her because he needed to see what he was doing to get the clips attached.
She rested her forehead on his head and was running her fingers through his hair while he was fastening the clips on the bandage, and she mused, "What about New Year's Eve?"
His hands landed gently on her hips, and he nodded, "I like that idea. People will be off for the holidays. Starting the new year as man and wife? I like it." He kissed her again, then slowly trailed kisses down to her right breast, as the left one was covered by the sling.
She was enjoying his attentions, and added, "Plus, then you won't forget what day our anniversary falls on." She then reached under his arm and pulled him up as she laid back on the bed and he was captured between her legs.
He leaned up on his elbows and said, "Hey, now. Are you sure you're ready for that again? I don't want…" He didn't get to finish because she kissed him.
She explained to him between kisses, "Scientists have found that all of the hormones that are released during sex, and more specifically, orgasms, are known to dull pain. I think it's what the doctor ordered." She kissed him again as she started to unbutton his jeans with her right hand.
He broke this kiss and looked into her eyes, "Do you know how deep inside you I want to be right now?"
She paused, then answered with a twinkle in her eye, "Hmmm, sufficiently?"
He rubbed against her, causing her to moan pleasurably, "Guess again." It had been a little over a week since they had last made love, not counting last night, and his little cowboy was suddenly ready to get to work.
"Perfectly?" was her reply, his response was to kiss her neck. She moaned, "Come on, cowboy, I want to make love with my fiancé again."
The little cowboy now had command of most of the blood supply, but Houston's brain managed to ask, "Should I get a condom?" It wasn't even on his mind last night.
She shook her head and rasped, as he ran his tongue from the nape of her neck to her ear, "It's okay. It's okay, I'm still on the pill." In no time flat he was undressed, and they were once again joined body and soul.
When they were satiated and snuggled together, he said, "I think we need to get downstairs for some breakfast before I leave for the office."
She remembered she wasn't going to get to go with him and it upset her, which she knew was childish of her, but she couldn't help it. After she bit her lip, she mentally shook off that feeling she sighed, "Are you taking Roy and Will with you?"
He kissed her head and said, "Yeah, I'm going to have them working on BABY while I drag Hoyt out to Cabrillo."
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After they dressed and made their way to the kitchen, Will greeted them with a knowing smile that made C.J. blush. He had been about to knock on the bedroom door to let them know that breakfast was ready, but he heard the sounds of them moaning, in the midst of a plethora of "I love you's" from both, and turned and promptly went back downstairs. He wanted to tease them and was going to ask some version of, "So how was the baloney pony ride?", but decided to ask a different question instead, "So, C.J., are the lights bothering you today?"
Houston looked over to her as he sat down at the table and poured himself a cup of coffee, because he wanted to know the answer, too. C.J. had to think about it, the curtains were partially opened but she didn't have a headache, nor did she feel one coming on. She answered him with a little smile, "No, not at the moment."
Will snickered, then murmured into his coffee cup, "Wow, Matt, I had no idea that your dick had medicinal powers."
Houston had a cup of coffee in hand and chuckled, "Jealous?"
C.J. turned to go to the refrigerator, shaking her head. Pecora had a slightly reproachful look on her face, so Roy admonished them, "Boys, there are ladies present who don't want to hear that kind of talk."
Will took an innocent stance, "Whaaat? He's a private investigator. They call them 'dicks'." He and Houston exchanged smirks.
"Enough." Was his father's response to the Texas Terrors. Then he changed the subject, "When are we heading to the office?"
Houston calculated, "I need to call Hoyt, then Vinny D', because I want more men around the perimeter, I need to be sure Bo and Lamar are up to speed…" He looked at his watch, "Let's be ready to roll outta here in an hour." Then he looked at Pecora, "Pecora, C.J.'s going to be staying home for a while, so can I trust you to keep her in line? Make sure she takes her medicine on time?" C.J. turned and glowered at him, so he puckered his lips and kissed the air, she shook her head and went back to pouring herself some orange juice.
She smiled and nodded, "Yes, sir. Miss C.J. and I will get along just fine." She had heard all about the incident at the office and was glad that they were smart enough not to test C.J.'s guardian angel again so soon.
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Later that morning, Houston and Hoyt were aghast when the doctor told them that Meredith's (a.k.a. Erin's) cell was empty and apparently had been for at least two weeks. Hoyt bellowed, "And just how did that go unnoticed by your staff for even a day?!"
Knowing she was kept in a padded cell, Houston jumped in, "She's a violent mental patient and NO ONE knew she was gone? Was no one concerned that she hadn't been given food or water or…"
Hoyt finished, "Or bathed? What kind of place are you running here?" The lead doctor and the warden were about to defend themselves, but Michael cut him off, "Never mind, I think we know. I'm calling this in right now and you had better get good lawyers, because the abuse and neglect of the mentally ill will not go down well with any judge."
"And considering this is the same place that Castanos escaped from a few years ago, your track record has now moved from being on shaky ground to drowning in quicksand," Houston added angrily.
It took most of the morning and afternoon dealing with the situation before Houston finally arrived back at the office with boxes of surveillance tapes under his arms. He greeted Chris on the way past her desk, then went up and put the boxes on the poker table. He could see Uncle Roy and Will were working hard on BABY. "So, what'd ya' guys come up with?"
Will turned to look at him, "It took us a while to get what little we did get. C.J. really does have the touch with this machine."
Houston's voice was slightly irritated, "Yeah, well, she's not coming to the office any time soon, so we're going to have to make the best of it."
"We tried to get the bank information, but it was a no go." Will walked up to the poker table and started rifling through the tapes in the box.
Roy added, "I'm afraid we really didn't get far. We called C.J. and she tried to walk us through it, but it really would be easier if she were here."
Houston shook his head, he looked out to the helipad and in his mind's eye he saw her jump the wall. All he could manage on the subject was, "I can't…" So, he changed topics, "Hoyt made us copies of the surveillance tapes from the past month. Now, they cover most of the exits and hallways, so we should be at least able to get an idea of what she looks like now. Then we'll get a copy of that photo out to Vinny D's men so they know who to look out for." He looked over at Roy, "How did C.J. sound when you talked to her?"
"She sounded good. Said the light was just starting to bother her a bit, and she was going to go lie down. That was about an hour ago." He loved how much Houston loved C.J. It reminded him of his love for Flo, but not in a way that made him sad. In a way that made him happy they finally came to their senses.
Sally added with a smile, "And Aunt Pecora said that C.J. was cooperating and taking her medicine, but it's hard for anyone to tell my Auntie no." Everyone chuckled at that.
Houston looked at his watch, "You know what? Since it's already 4:00, let's go ahead and wrap things up and head back to the ranch, so we aren't late for the next nurse. Tomorrow I'll fly in that way I can stay later if I need to."
Roy offered, "Maybe we can leave some of the tapes at the ranch for C.J. to go over. It'll make her feel better if she's working."
Houston nodded, "Good idea, Uncle Roy. That'll also help us get through the tapes twice as fast. I need to talk to Murray, and our security team, then we can go."
%%%%%%%%
For the next few days, C.J. acted coolly towards Houston, but he figured it was a combination of the pain from her ribs and that she couldn't go to the office. Add to that the fact that her light sensitivity came and went unpredictably, which would make anyone grumpy. The guys managed as best as they could working BABY at the office, but all agreed that C.J. had "the touch". While she stayed at home, she watched the videos and marked the places of note.
She had been in bed when the guys got home, so the next morning she sat them down and showed them the last time Meredith Brown had left her cell and her exit from the building, "I've looked at all of the tapes with this time stamp from the entrances and the person who let her out knew where the cameras were and how to hide their face."
"But why would she go with them? It would have to be someone she knew, right?" Roy asked.
Houston sipped his coffee and thought about it, "Not if they were offering her a way out. She was crazy, but not stupid." He spent many moments since she attacked him and C.J. regretting his one-night stand with her. He could tell it still bothered C.J. too because she was giving him frosty glances.
C.J. chimed in, "True. She did manage to fool the doctors and nurses at the hospital into thinking she belonged there, so she could steal drugs and party with her boyfriend." She was trying not to, but she was shooting Houston an icy stare anytime she looked in his direction.
"She killed that guy, too, right?" Will asked Houston. He sensed the tension between his cousin and C.J., but wasn't sure what was going on.
"Yeah, she likes stabbing people to death with a scalpel or a knife. The guard, her boyfriend, and she tried to do the same to me. It's one of the reasons Vinny D's guys are wearing bulletproof vests, if she comes at them, they'll have a fighting chance." Houston looked at his watch and said, "We had better get going to beat the traffic." But he had finally had enough and snapped, "What, C.J.?!"
Her lip curled a bit and she said coldly, "Nothing." Then she made her way to the kitchen and started clearing the table.
Roy, Will, and Amara, Roy's nurse, made their way through the kitchen and out the door as quickly as possible so the couple could have it out without an audience. Houston tried to remain calm when he repeated his question to her, but there was still an edge to his voice, "What, C.J.? And don't say nothing, because we both know it's something."
She looked at the cup in his hand then at him, and said flatly, "You promised."
He was baffled, "I promised what?" Why were women so hard to understand?
She couldn't believe that a private eye couldn't pick up on that clue, so her hand went to her hip as she explained, "You promised that you would give up coffee with me, until after the baby is born. That included the time before I got pregnant. But for these past few days, you've been drinking coffee. So, then I have to wonder, what other promises will he break if he can't even do this simple one." It was a little thing really, but it had been irritating her to no end the last few days.
He shook his head in disbelief. He thundered, "Coffee?! You're mad about coffee?! Seriously?! We're trying to catch a murderer, C.J.! One who's after you and you're mad that I've been drinking coffee?!" He stood there giving her a defiant look.
It was her turn to shake her head in disbelief, "I should have known better." How could he not see all that she was giving up for him to have a healthy baby? "Typical man," she thought. Suddenly her head hurt and the light was becoming too bright. She felt the emotions coming on, too. Her tone switched to a defeated one and she told him, "Just go to the office." Then she walked past him and went upstairs.
He stormed outside and to the helicopter, as he took off, he could see the van was pulling out of the gate and Pecora's nephew's car was pulling in. What he didn't see was that across the road, hiding up the hill in the scrub brush was Meredith.
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As the guys were working on BABY all morning, trying to get the bank information on everyone who worked at Cabrillo so they could see if anyone had made any large deposits that would indicate a payoff.
Houston was pacing. He had told them about their argument. He finally broke his silence and said, "I mean, can you believe that was what she was upset about?"
Will and Roy both said, "Yes" respectively. Roy elaborated on his answer, "You both agreed to not drink coffee. She kept up her end of the deal."
Houston was still in disbelief, "It's such a little thing to be upset about. And if it was bothering her, why didn't she say something before?"
Will was done hearing about it so he said, "Women, huh? Whaddayagonnado?"
Houston became determined, "I'm gonna call her, that's what I'm gonna do." The other two exchanged looks but knew better than to try and stop him. He picked up the phone and dialed the ranch, he said politely, "Hello, Pecora. Let me speak to C.J. please… Where is she?" He cursed under his breath, "How long ago did she leave? If she gets back there, tell her I said to stay put."
Before Houston could get a word out, Uncle Roy was saying via his communicator, "Do NOT go looking for her. Let her do whatever it is she's doing. She'll be back at the ranch when we get there this evening." He, too, was done hearing about it.
Houston countered, "There's a crazy woman after her! I can't just stay here and hope that Erin doesn't manage to kill her this time." Houston picked up the phone and dialed, and after a pause said, "Vinny, it's Houston. Yeah, I'm gonna need you to get a couple of men over to C.J.'s house right away…" His face fell, "Whadda ya' mean? So, this was planned?" Houston's tone changed from irritated to remorseful, "Oh… No, I completely forgot. Which… Do you have the address?" He grabbed a note pad and started writing. After he hung up, he stood there with his eyes closed, taking deep breaths.
Will offered, "Let me guess, she had a doctor's appointment."
He heaved a heavy sigh, "Yeah, do you two think…"
"Go. And be sure to apologize without arguing. We'll see you later." Will decided he'd rather try to muddle through this without Houston, than to have him there moping.
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The nurse let Houston through, and he shook hands with the body guards, Raul and Jeremy, who were waiting outside the exam room. Neither of them looked comfortable, but kept an air of serious professionalism about them. When Houston entered the dimly lit room, he saw C.J. on the flat exam table, on her side, curled in a ball. He went to her and kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. Her breathing was ragged and her body was trembling a little. "Hey, honey, how long you been like this?"
She didn't open her eyes, as she managed a quiet, "I don't know." Then went back to her breathing exercise. "The doctor said I can leave when I'm ready."
Just then Dr. Ewles entered and closed the door behind him. He put out his hand and said, "You must be the fiancé." Houston shook his hand, nodded, then went back to stroking C.J.'s hair. "She's having a bad time at the moment, but that's to be expected. It's only been a little over a week since the accident. As I was telling Miss Parsons, it can take a couple of months or more for the brain to recover from this kind of injury."
He paused his stroking to ask, "Is there anything we should be doing?"
"We have her on the best medicines right now, but I would like to see her start to taper off on the pain meds starting on Monday. I gave her a paper with the plan, and which over the counter medications she can supplement with. Then I'll want to see her back in two weeks."
Houston started to ask C.J., "Where is…"
But she responded, "In my purse."
Houston looked back at Dr. Ewles, "Is there anything else we should or shouldn't be doing to help the healing process?"
Dr. Ewles gave his usual, "She needs to listen to her body." Then added, "She told me about the dark room you have set up and that sounds like a great way to give her brain a rest when she's feeling like this. I don't want her to do any jogging or running; a walk is fine, but nothing with any bouncing motions." Then he looked at Houston with a raised eyebrow, "And that would include vigorous sexual intercourse, too."
C.J. snickered at that and that made Houston grin. He had a host of remarks running through his head, but landed on, "I promise we'll take it easy."
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As much as it pained him, he let the Raul and Jeremy drive his 1980 Sparks Turbo Roadster "Excalibur" back to the ranch. He would have had them drive C.J.'s car, but she really needed to lie down and his car didn't have backseat, nor did the front seats recline enough. He knew how they felt, getting to drive such a car is a once in a lifetime event for most people, and their barely contained smiles as they promised to be careful with it showed their enthusiasm. He had to remind them that Vinny D' would be none too pleased to have to pay to repair, or heaven forbid, replace the car.
After one quick stop half way home, so that the body guards could switch places, they made it back to the ranch. C.J. found her way into the house and into the darkened closet while Houston was being thanked profusely for letting them drive it. She awoke, how much later she wasn't sure, to find Houston lying right next to her. She asked sleepily, "What time is it?"
He looked at his watch and replied, "A little after 2:00. What would you like to eat?"
She let out a slow breath, "I'm not…"
He calmly cut her off, using his best 'I love you, so don't argue with me' tone, "You need to take your medicine and eat something. What would you like to eat?"
"Toast with peanut butter." Was her reply after long consideration. It really hadn't taken that long for her to decide, but she was enjoying the way he was stroking her hair and kissing her forehead; she wished they could stay like that forever.
He helped her up so she could use the bathroom while he made her lunch, and she quickly retreated back to the room because even the dim light was too much for her. She propped herself in the corner, keeping her eyes closed. When he came in, he left the door open the tiniest of cracks so he could see where he was going. He sat next to her and handed her the toast. After she took a bite, she mumbled a, "Thank you."
Houston kissed her forehead then said, "Welcome. We need to talk about some things." He wanted to take her hand but it had peanut butter toast in it so he settled for putting his hand on her thigh.
After a swallow, she agreed, "Yes, we do."
He began, "C.J., I don't want us to be one of those couples who have known each other forever, finally get married, then a year later get divorced, never to speak again."
She concurred, "I don't want that either."
He rubbed her thigh with his fingertips as he said, "So, let's make a deal that in the future, if either of us is doing something that is pissing the other one off, we will just say it."
She opened her eyes a bit to look at him, "Tactfully and politely?"
He nodded, "Yes. Tactfully and politely, but we will not let it fester for days on end. I didn't even think about drinking the coffee. It was there, my mind was on a million other things, and I truly forgot about that promise. And I am sorry for breaking that promise to you."
She gave him a peck on the lips, "I forgive you. And I'm sorry for not just saying something the first time I saw you take a sip." Then she took the last bite of her toast, and he handed her the pills and, after she put them in her mouth, a glass of water. After she swallowed, she finished the glass of water and handed it back to him, then put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
He took her hand in his and said, "Now, we need to talk about both of us getting therapy. We have both experienced horrible things, and, after your jump over the wall the other day, we clearly need to deal with it." He could feel there was a little peanut butter on her finger, so he lifted her hand and gently put her finger in his mouth to clean it off. He knew he'd feel the sizzle before he did it, and that's why he did it. He loved that sizzle between them.
It was an action that made the magnet energize inside her, but they were in the middle of a serious discussion, so she did her best to ignore it. She took in a deep breath then nodded, "No more brushing things under the rug."
He nodded too, and rested his head on hers, "Agreed. Do you think Carol might know of a therapist who is willing to be very flexible with appointment times and places?"
"I'll call her and ask her." Then she decided she needed clarification, "You mean individual counseling, right?"
He let out a deep breath, "I think we'll both need individual, but couples counseling wouldn't be a bad idea either."
She nudged him with her body, and chortled, "Look at you."
He wasn't sure what was so amusing, "What?"
"Who would have thought that you would be such a modern 80's man and want couples counseling," she teased.
But he was serious, "What you and I have is so important to me. More important than any 'don't need help from no one, pull yourself up by your own boot straps' cowboy attitude that I have."
She turned her head a little and kissed his arm, "Agreed. And we both need to work on our stubborn streaks. You more so than me."
Even though she couldn't see it, he raised an eyebrow, "How do you figure that?"
She squeezed his hand, and began earnestly, "I know you're stubborn and that you're going to do exactly what you set out to do. So, I rarely try to stand in your way, but you…" She paused, and turned her head to put her chin on his shoulder, "You're used to going off and giving your attentions to your flavor of the month and not paying any attention to what I do outside of work. But now that I am the focus of those attentions, you're forgetting that I have friends and activities that didn't involve you. I made a whole host of decisions about my life and my body that didn't require any input from you. So, what you see as me being stubborn, is you finally noticing all of the choices that I make about my life on a day to day basis." Then she turned her head back to leaned it against his shoulder again.
He took several minutes and thought about that while he stretched and closed his fingers that were intertwined with hers. He told her softly, "I never looked at it that way. I guess we'll be giving our therapist a lot of ground to cover." He leaned over and kissed her on the side of the head, then placed his right hand on her lower abdomen and asked, "Now, when do you think we'll be putting a baby in here?"
She let go of his left hand and put her right hand on top of his, "Not until after I've stopped taking these meds and they've been out of my system for at least a month. I was thinking of waiting until after the wedding." She opened her eyes when she turned to look at him.
He kissed her tenderly, then said, "I guess I can wait that long."
She kissed him and said, "Good. And I think I need a nap now." She laid down on her side and stretched out her legs.
He helped her adjust the pillows so she was comfortable, covered her with the throw, then went out to make some phone calls.
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It had been a week of dead ends. No one at the institute appeared to have been paid off to allow the person who let Meredith go free into the building. They had distributed her photo to every cop, security firm, hotel/motel clerk, and Huggy Bear Brown-wannabes in the city and county. But they all knew she had probably changed her appearance, and was also most likely staying with whoever sprung her from Cabrillo. And whoever that was, as Roy put it, "Was very shrewd, very shrewd indeed."
Will was enjoying working side by side with his dad and his cousin. Roy encouraged him to take his resume up to Silicon Valley to see if he could get a tech job up there. Will wasn't so sure he wanted to be that far from them again. He was loving having family around, but his dating attempts weren't as successful as he had hoped. The ordeal that he went through in Vietnam and Cambodia left his dates a little nervous that he might snap. And several of them, in the middle of their dates, would suddenly remember him from the news and that he almost jumped off a building, then it would go downhill from there. Houston and C.J. offered to set him up with some single friends, but he didn't like the pressure that a fix-up brought with it. So, for now, he was focused on learning as much about BABY and how to get her to find all of the information like C.J. was able to.
But that last Friday in September, Roy stayed home because of a fever that came on quickly. It wasn't a high fever, but enough of a temp that Sally made the call to keep him home to monitor him closely and let him get some rest. C.J. was still staying home and doing well with weaning off the pain medicine. Her headaches were still coming and going, but today was a day that allowed her to be anywhere in the house so long as the light was dim. She had found a therapist who was willing to meet them either at home or at the office on short notice, and their first session as a couple was scheduled for the following Tuesday. Bo and Lamar had taken Houston's prized horse, the one he won in the chili cook off, to the vet for a checkup. Houston and Will took the chopper to the office so they could avoid LA rush hour traffic.
It was about mid-morning when C.J. heard a chime that she had only heard when the security system was first turned on. She sat on the couch and flipped through the cameras trying to find out who or what triggered the chime. She was on the cameras that were at the back of the property when she saw her. Meredith moving among the cattle, so that the guards wouldn't see her. She immediately got on the walkie-talkie to alert the guards, "Sentinel one, this is Legal Eagle do you copy?" She received static as a reply. She repeated her call several times, all the while keeping an eye on the cameras, but no one responded. She realized that she would have to go up the road to the gate to get the guards, but that would leave Roy, Sally and Pecora vulnerable if Meredith made it to the house before they got back.
Meredith had made it through the cattle and was hiding in a row of bushes, that C.J. used the camera to narrow in on. "Pecora, Sally, Roy! Come to the living room please." She quickly formulated a plan as they were joining her in the living room.
They came quickly, because they could hear the barely controlled panic in her voice. When they came into the living room, she pointed to the monitor, "This is Meredith. She's coming to kill me. I can't raise the guards on the walkie-talkie." She walked over to the door and retrieved her running shoes, all while saying, "I'm afraid if I go up to get them, she'll get into the house and harm all of you. So, this is what we're going to do." She looked at Sally as she dropped the shoes on the floor, and shoved her feet into them one at a time, "I need help getting my running shoes on." Sally immediately squatted down and started tying the laces up tight. C.J. continued telling them her plan, "I'm going to go outside and let her see me, then I will lead her away from the house."
They were about to protest, but she put her hand up then continued, "Pecora, I'm going to need you to take one of the cars and drive as fast as you can to the gate and bring the guards back here." Pecora nodded, the C.J. turned to Sally, "I'm going to have you call Houston to let him know what's going on. If he's at the office, it'll only take him 15 minutes to get here by chopper. Then call the police and let them know. I'll give you Lt. Hoyt's number, too. Then you and Roy lock yourselves in his room. Understand?" Sally nodded.
Everyone's attention was back to the monitors, and they saw that Meredith was at the second line of trees before the house. Pecora went out the door, then Roy offered, as C.J. was removing her sling, "Don't get too far ahead of her. If she thinks she can't catch you, she'll turn back around."
C.J. nodded solemnly, "Understood. Sally, there's a gun in the closet over there…" She pointed to the hall closet, "IF she does get in the house and in his room…" She hated to say the next part, "You shoot to kill, because she will not hesitate to kill both you and Roy. Understood?"
Sally nodded, "Understood." She went to the closet while C.J. took one last look to see where Meredith was then grabbed some sunglasses and headed out the door and walked slowly to the barn. She held her left arm against her body as if she still had the sling on.
It was another beautiful sunny So Cal day, which was not helping C.J., because a head ache was coming on fast, but the adrenaline started to flow keeping it at bay. She saw movement towards the barn from the tree line, then she stepped into the barn. She stopped at the first stall and started talking to the horse, Clyde. "Hey, big guy. How's it goin' today? Can I get you some sweet feed?" She smiled when all of the horses immediately came to their stall doors, stuck their heads out and began nickering. "So, everyone wants some sweet feed? Alright, let me get it for you." She walked over to the grain barrel, opened it and scooped up some feed with the metal scoop. At that moment, Meredith entered the barn slowly, with a scalpel raised, and C.J. froze, planning her next move. She could almost hear Houston's voice, "Keep her in front of you. Use the scoop to block the blade. Decide which exit is easiest to get to."
Meredith lowered the blade a little and moved to the side opposite from C.J. She snarled, "There you are. I should have killed you the last time you little slut." C.J. didn't respond, so Meredith started a slow rant, "Ooohhh, I've thought a lot about you. How you said that you and Houston weren't 'like that', but you were doing him the whole time, weren't you? WEREN'T YOU?!" C.J. shook her head, "Don't you lie to me. I saw the pictures of you two playing football, on the hammock, making out IN THE POOL!"
C.J. gently inquired, "Where did you get photos?"
Meredith scowled, "Never you mind, missy. The point is you were doing that tattooed freak and my man at the same time." She had now stepped so she was in front of Calamity's stall.
C.J. was about to correct her on that point, but decided to just let it be. "I guess who ever showed you those pictures was the person who let you out?" As she said this, she took a half step toward the barn door.
"I'm not telling you that either, but they hate you as much as I do. Maybe even more. I can't believe you didn't die when I hit you with the car…" Just then Calamity bit down hard on Meredith's shoulder, and C.J. threw the feed in her face, then turned and ran out of the barn leaving a screaming Meredith behind.
C.J. heard a horse scream and pivoted, then saw Meredith run out of the barn, so she turned back and started running up the road. Houston's red convertible was coming down the road but stopped, so C.J. kept running towards it. She could see there was no one in the car with Pecora. Pecora started to get out but C.J. said, "Get in and lock the door!" She ran past the car and Meredith wasn't too far behind her. C.J. could hear the sirens coming toward the ranch and the unmistakable sound of Houston's chopper almost over them.
Up in the chopper, Houston was trying to figure out a way to get between C.J. and Meredith, but they were too close to each other. Hoyt said into the megaphone, "Meredith Brown, you are surrounded, drop your weapon and lie down on the ground." It made Meredith look up momentarily, but then she continued chasing her prey. He looked at Houston, "She's going to get to C.J. before our guys can get to her."
Houston grinned a little, "No, she won't." Hoyt gave him a puzzled look, "She's never seen C.J. run. Say this 'Kick it into high gear, C.J.'" Hoyt did and immediately C.J. was a quarter mile up the road and at and through the gate the officers had opened. Meredith still pursued her and the officers all had their guns drawn.
A shot rang out, and Meredith hit the ground dead. Hoyt yelled into his walkie, "HOLD YOUR FIRE! HOLD YOUR FIRE!" When Houston landed the chopper, Hoyt jumped out, gun drawn, and approached the lifeless body, there was blood and brain matter spattered all over. The other officers approached, and he berated them, "Who fired that shot?! We wanted her alive!"
Everyone was shaking their heads and the Sargent in charge said, "None of my men fired their weapons, sir."
As they discussed police procedure, Houston ran behind one of the cop cars to find C.J. curled up in the fetal position, her face buried in her hands, her emerald engagement ring glinting in the sunlight. He could see she was clearly pain, and he wanted to scoop her up, but was afraid of hurting her more if he did. "Hey, honey, hey." He stroked her hair.
She managed to choke out through a sob, "Calamity. I think Meredith stabbed her. Go to Calamity."
One of the officers came around the car and Houston directed him, "Get her in your car and take her to the house."
"Shouldn't I call an ambulance?" He wondered aloud.
"No, just get her to the house." Then they all heard noises coming from the brush across the road, they looked to see Jeremy, one of the guards, crawling towards them covered in blood. At that moment, Houston was torn. He wanted to know what happened to the guards, but he also knew C.J. needed him to get her to the dark room and away from the danger that was still looming. When the officer called for backup, and half a dozen cops came running over, he knew he would have to find out later what went on. He gingerly picked C.J. up and started towards the house.
Hoyt saw him coming and was about to admonish him for walking through his crime scene but then saw the look on C.J.'s face and let him pass, putting his arm out to indicate he should take a wide path around the scene. Then he headed on up to the road to find out what was going on up there. Houston was glad to see that Pecora hadn't moved the car and was, in fact, still in it with the engine running. He opened the back door and slid inside with C.J. sitting in his lap. "Drive!" He said a little more harshly than he intended.
Pecora floored it and got to the house in under two minutes. Houston threw the door open and got out of the car as fast as he could, but the door was locked. Pecora informed him, "They're probably locked in your Uncle's room, and won't be openin' the door for nobody."
He looked at Pecora and said, "You're going to have to reach into my pocket to get the keys."
Her eyes widened a bit, but then she heard C.J.'s whimper, and steeled herself to reach into his pocket to grab the keys, then she opened the door, and let him pass her quickly on the way to the dark room. She went to Roy's bedroom door and knocked loudly; she hollered, "It's okay! Ya'll can come on out now! Sally, C.J.'s gonna need your help." A minute later Sally was opening the door and heading to the dark room. She was followed by Roy. A minute after that Houston ran out of the house and towards the barn.
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Somewhere far away, a mysterious woman and man were having a phone conversation. The man growled, "You were wrong."
The woman, sighed then defended herself, "I wasn't wrong. I just thought she'd get the job done."
The man tapped the phone with his index finger, "Did you see the ring?"
She scoffed, "It means nothing."
The man growled again, "You'd better hope so, or you and I will both have hell to pay. And we both know who'll pay the higher price."