Sinking In
AJ waited outside the hospital room where they were examining and stitching Cassie up. Once the nurses allowed her to go in, she joined her.
"Have they put you back together again?" AJ smiled, walking into the room where Cassie was sitting up on the edge of the bed. The side of her head had been stitched and she was still a little woozy from the concussion.
"Yeah, I guess." Cassie said.
"How you feeling?" AJ asked, brushing her hand over Cassie's hair motherly.
"I'm ok." Cassie nodded, "I should have done more." She shook her head.
"What are you talking about?" AJ shook her head.
"When we were in the cab. I should have saw it coming. The guy was off and… and he was driving on the quiet roads-"
"Babe, you couldn't have done anymore. Look at you." AJ shook her head, "You saved our asses in there." She said, "I was terrified. I wasn't thinking about how we could get out of there. Not clearly anyway. You were." She said, "We're safe because of you." She assured her as Cassie sighed.
"I'll probably get fired for coming out here." Cassie nodded.
"No you won't." AJ shook her head, "Jake will be glad you're ok, and safe. And there's no way he'd ever let someone as brave and smart as you go." She assured her.
"Yeah well you have to say those things, you're my mom." Cassie said as AJ laughed a little.
"I wouldn't lie to you, though. If you were terrible, I'd let you know." She nodded as Cassie smiled to her. She knew that was probably true.
"I don't know why Theo has to come." Cassie shook her head.
"Maybe because he cares about you." AJ said, "Why are you finding it so difficult with him?" She asked as Cassie sighed, "You can tell me." She assured her as Cassie looked at her.
"I just don't want to feel the way I did when he… was gone." Cassie shrugged, "I don't wanna feel that ever again in my life. It worked when we were just friends, messing around, no strings attached." She nodded.
"Those never work." AJ scoffed.
"It did for us." Cassie said.
"Clearly not, because you wound up liking each other." AJ pointed out as Cassie looked at her.
"I can shake it off." Cassie gulped.
"You don't just shake things like that off." AJ shook her head, "You know how many times I tried shaking your dad off when he was in prison?" She scoffed as Cassie laughed a little.
"Yeah, but that's you two." Cassie shook her head, "That doesn't count." She said automatically.
"Don't be afraid to have feelings, baby." AJ shook her head, playing with her daughter's hair, "It's all part of life."
"I'm not afraid." Cassie said stubbornly, "I just don't want to be hurt. That's all."
"If you think like that, you're not gonna be able to trust anybody." AJ said, "And I know you're not into the whole… marriage and kids thing, that's fine. I don't blame you. Kids are a nightmare." She teased as Cassie looked up at her, "But… one day you might feel different and you gotta let yourself feel things." She nodded, "What if Theo is the one?"
"The one?" Cassie questioned, "Please." She scoffed, "There's no such thing."
"You don't think there's a right person for everybody out there?" AJ asked.
"No." Cassie laughed a little, "I just think people get along with other people better." She shrugged.
"Well maybe." AJ nodded. Cassie's views on things always fascinated her but at times, it also concerned her too. She never wanted her daughter to be afraid of being loved or having a relationship.
"You and dad must think I'm an alien. Not introduced you to a boyfriend of mine and I'm twenty-two." She said.
"Cass, do you know how happy your dad is about that?" AJ smiled as Cassie laughed a little, "We don't think you're an alien. I'd rather you wait and introduce us to someone you find really special, than random boys we're gonna wanna punch." She nodded.
"Was that a dig at Jude?" Cassie smiled, amused.
"She has to have the worst dating track record out of everyone." AJ shook her head as Cassie chuckled.
"You're right." Cassie nodded, twiddling her thumbs as AJ watched her.
"You ok?" AJ asked her as Cassie looked down, trying not to cry, "Cassie?" AJ placed her hand on her shoulder.
"I don't know really know what to do at the moment." Cassie admitted, not being able to stop the tears from coming as AJ sighed, sitting down on the edge of the bed beside her, wrapping her arm around her comfortingly.
"It's ok, baby." AJ sighed, giving her a much needed hug.
Meanwhile back outside the house Punk had spoken to some of the cops before he, Thea and Jude took off to a nearby hotel for the night. Jake and Theo weren't arriving until early morning and AJ had text to say they were keeping Cassie in until morning due to her concussion, and that she was going to stay with her.
"Did you speak to Sean?" Punk asked Jude, walking into the hotel where Thea had already walked ahead.
"Yeah." Jude nodded, "Yeah, he's fine. He got some cops from work to come and help him. Mirren said her first word too." She said, still smiling over that.
"Oh, yeah?" Punk raised his eyebrows, "What'd she say?" He asked.
"Rice." Jude laughed a little, "What can I say? She likes her carbs." She smiled as Punk chuckled and nodded.
"Rice today, she'll tell you a full story tomorrow." Punk nodded, "That's how quick it goes by." He said as Jude nodded.
"It's unbelievable that she's already one." Jude shook her head, walking up to the front desk where Thea was.
"I just got two rooms. We can share." She nodded to Jude.
"Yeah, ok." Jude said.
"I'll get it, you girls go sit down over there. Get a drink out the vending machine." He said, as if they were still twelve, which they just smiled at and headed over to the lounge area whilst their father booked their rooms for the night.
"Did you talk to Dominic?" Jude asked Thea, walking over to the lounge to sit down on the soft seats.
"Yeah." Thea sighed, "Yeah and I got to talk to the kids too." She said gratefully, "They're all ok. A little spooked obviously but… they're ok." She said thankfully, "Theo was at the house luckily when those guys came."
"Are we nuts for just… acting like all of that was normal?" Jude asked her sister, "Since when did our life become killing and stabbing people?" She shook her head.
"Since that bitch deserved it." Thea said simply, "She really deserved it." She made clear as Jude nodded.
"Oh, I agree." Jude assured her, "I just hope mom is ok." She nodded.
"She'll be fine." Thea nodded.
"What about you?" Jude said.
"What about me?" Thea questioned.
"You doing ok? I know the first few days coming off from a binge can be tough for you-"
"It wasn't really a binge." Thea said, "I didn't get that far. Couple of days more, sure." She said, "But Cassie was there. She stayed with me every night, made sure I was going to work and that... I wasn't drinking."
"I'm sorry I wasn't there." Jude said, "I feel more guilty now than ever for leaving-"
"Well you shouldn't." Thea said, "There's absolutely nothing wrong with what you did. You're allowed to move away and do different things. You're not bound to all of us forever." She said, "Sure, things were shitty and maybe having you around would have helped but it wouldn't have changed anything." She said, "Don't beat yourself up about it."
"I just hate that I made mom and dad feel like I blamed them. I never did." Jude shook her head, "I was just scared, I guess."
"They know you don't blame them." Thea assured her, "They wanted to come out here and handle it on their own to protect all of us. It's what they do." She nodded.
"I really thought she was gonna take Mirren. When I heard Sean pick up that phone I just… I've never felt relief like that in my life." Jude shook her head.
"Yeah, I know." Thea nodded. They were exhausted and overwhelmed by the emotions of the night, finally taking a seat and letting it run out of them.
"We should probably try sleep for a few hours." Jude said as Thea nodded.
"Probably but I… I feel so wide awake." Thea said as Jude looked across at her, "I could pound a bottle of wine right now." She said truthfully, running her hands through her face and taking a deep breath as Jude watched her.
"You could but… you're not going to." Jude said, looking over at her father who was at the front desk, "Why did you not tell them?"
"They're dealing with enough." Thea said, "And I'm not just saying that. They really are. I'll be fine and… I'll get back on track before they even know it." She said.
"Why'd you do it?" Jude asked, "I mean… I know, stupid question but you've been clean for years." She said, "Since before James was born."
"I know how long it is." Thea assured her, "I just couldn't deal with the paranoia and the stress anymore. Pretending like things were fine. I kept thinking about the kids, how she almost took them away. Kept having these horrible, horrible nightmares." She shook her head, "I just couldn't do it."
"You could have called me." Jude nodded.
"I could have called anyone." Thea said, "It's just a blip. I stopped in time and I'll… I'll stay off it." She promised, "My kids are never gonna see me like that." She promised as Jude nodded.
"I uh… I heard Sam is in a rehab facility." Jude said.
"I like how we're talking about me here and you find a link to Sam. That's nice." Thea smiled as Jude laughed a little.
"Don't overthink." Jude said.
"She's in a rehab home. It's also like a care home thing. I used to go for appointments sometimes when I was younger." Thea said as Jude nodded.
"And she's taking it seriously?" Jude wondered as Thea nodded.
"According to dad and Dean, yeah." Thea said as Jude nodded, "She's finding it difficult obviously but… I think she had a good chat with dad and Dean. I guess once they knew that she didn't get in the state she's in because of her own problems and mistakes… changed some things. Changed perspective."
"I don't blame her, you know. Yeah, she can be a bitch, a lot." Jude said, "But to live that life. For your supposed best friend to do that to you. It's like being raped for your entire life." Jude shook her head, "It's… I don't know, there's not really words for it." Jude shook her head as Thea nodded.
"Yeah, I know." Thea said, "I've not been to visit her yet but I think I will. Push away all the dumb things she's said and did, she was always there for me when I needed someone. She's not a bad person." Thea shook her head.
"No, she's not." Jude agreed, watching as their father walked over with room keys.
"Hey, here's the key to your room." He said, handing them over the key as Jude took it from him, watching as he took a seat across from them, running his hands over his face.
"Do you feel better?" Thea asked him as he looked up.
"Relieved more like." Punk nodded, "She was the problem in all of this. Her and her husband. Possessed by drugs and money." He shook his head, "Look where it gets you. All of them, dead." He shook his head.
"Do you think mom will be ok?" Jude asked.
"Yeah, I spoke with her on the phone. She's doing ok. I think… I think she was preparing for this. That's not her family. It never was." He shook his head.
"Do you think the whole business will get wiped out now?" Thea asked him.
"Yeah, I'd imagine so." Punk said, "I'm assuming it was this kind of thing, this kind of blow-up that the cops were waiting on to make their move. Take her down and the rest will follow." He nodded.
"When do you think Jake and Theo will get here?" Jude asked.
"Sometime in the morning." Punk said, "We'll probably get home tomorrow night." He said as they nodded.
"Well I think I'm gonna try get some sleep." Jude said, standing up.
"Yeah, me too." Thea agreed as Punk nodded.
"It's a good idea." Punk agreed, standing up as he gave them a double hug, "Love you both." He said, kissing their heads.
"Love you too." Thea smiled.
"Love you." Jude nodded, rubbing his arm softly. In heinsight, he was glad they were here with him right now.
"You want me to see if they can bring you up some room service?" He asked them.
"We're ok, dad." Thea nodded, "You should go get some sleep too." She said.
"I'll go soon, I just wanna sit here for a few minutes." He assured them as they nodded.
"Ok." Thea smiled, leaving the lounge area with her sister as Punk watched them, sitting back down on the couch type chair.
He took a deep breath and let out slowly, letting it sink in that his family were no longer a target. By anyone.
A/N: There's lots more lowkey drama still to come, don't worry! Thanks for all the awesome reviews.
