"Amor Vincit Omnia"
Disclaimer: I do not own All My Children, its dialogue, storylines or any of its characters.
Chapter 17
"I need to get to the hospital," Jack said as he stormed out of the office to his car. He did not even bother to lock the office door behind him which was more than a little careless.
Fortunately for him (though he did not know it), Gwen remembered where he hid the key. After a moment hovering in the open doorway she reached towards the ground, feeling through the shadows as she had been known to over the years and retrieved a smiling ceramic frog. She examined it for a moment. The paint had peeled over the years so its pale green was striped with a bland gray. Flipping the object over in her palm, Gwen was relieved to find that some things did not change as she found the key taped to the bottom of the frog just as always.
With a small smile she took it and quickly closed and locked the door securely. She ran her palm over the wooden door affectionately. It even smelled like it used to, making her smile widen with fond memories.
She placed the key and the frog on the ground and turned towards Jack, hoping he appreciated what she did for him but of course he did not. He was frantically trying to put various keys in his car door and was increasingly unsuccessful as his worries grew. Gwen rolled her eyes at what she knew was the cause for the concern.
"Who's in the hospital?" Gwen asked. If he would be nothing more to her than an alibi at this point she would at least make it worth it.
Jack paused for a moment as he breathed in deeply. "Erica. It's Erica. I don't know what happened yet."
"Oh, that's a shame," Gwen said, the words falling out of her mouth like a yawn. She waited for a moment for him to mention Frankie or Trey but apparently the short phone call he took only moments before did not include that information. She was not panicked. She had been in this situation before and trusted her family to get the job done. Erica was in the hospital, right? It was time to take proactive measures.
Taking a moment to plaster on a friendly smile, Gwen turned back to Jack and began her stride towards his car. "If you could just drop me off at home that would be great."
This froze him in pursuit of getting his car open. "What are you talking about? I don't have time to drop you off. My wife is in the hospital."
"I'm a woman, Jack. You're just going to leave me alone on a street corner in the middle of the night?" Gwen asked as she put on a pout.
Jack did not look at her and only took a moment to breathe in and out a few times before finally sticking the correct key in the door and opening it. "I will take you to the hospital with me. You can call a cab from my cellphone or just wait for David to take you home. That's all I can do for you right now, Gwen. I'm sorry."
With that, he quickly got inside the car, eager to check on his wife. Gwen frowned for a second. This whole endeavor could have gone better for her but she was not concerned. Jackson Montgomery would not get away that easily. Not in the long run.
"Fine," Gwen drawled as she agreed to his terms. 'In time Montgomery. In time.'
Kendall and Bianca were mirror images of each other's concern as they paced back and forth next to their mother's bedside.
Even wrapped up in the light blankets of the hospital and hooked up to many machines their mother looked regal to them. Of course it helped that she was still in an evening gown and perfect makeup. It was in her living will with the hospital and though it seemed odd, Erica Kane was the town's biggest celebrity and knew most of the hospital staff personally. She could have whatever she wanted even when unconscious.
Kendall and Bianca had been silent after they finished making phone calls to various relatives and checking up on their children. Neither was particularly willing to voice the concerns and puzzles rattling around their heads.
Kendall had almost always been on Erica's side on the subject of Officer Anna Devane. Even when they could barely agree on anything they could agree on that. Of course they had their own personal reasons why they disliked her. When Kendall was much younger Anna had busted her using marijuana, being drunk in public and more than a few times for breaking and entering and vandalism.
On a personal note when she and Greenlee would get into arguments at Fusion, some of which started out professionally but all of which ended up personal, Anna would more often than not take Greenlee's side. Kendall knew this was mostly caused by the fact that Anna and Greenlee were basically related, even if it was only by marriage. Greenlee and Anna were more than somewhat close and at times Anna was more aware of Greenlee's personal problems than even Kendall. Maybe she disliked her a little for that too.
However, none of this ever made Kendall think even for a second that Anna was a dirty cop or mentally unstable. She had seen the people her mother had serious fueds with and Erica's fued with Anna never ran that deep.
Still, it was Pine Valley and people lost their marbles everyday. No matter how much some of her family loved Anna who was Kendall supposed to believe attacked her mother? Anna Devane or her own brother?
For Bianca's part, she was worried to death about her mother and was blaming herself. She could not for a second believe that Anna was behind this and though every sign pointed that she did it and the Stones were completely innocent, Bianca just could not believe it.
People always told her not to trust her instincts because she always saw the good in everybody but Bianca knew that Anna had to be innocent, putting the Bennetts in just the right place to frame her. She hated thinking that. They were Maggie's family, which made them her family. She had known them literally her entire life, some of them in pretty intimate ways. However, if her mother got hurt because she was so trusting of them... Bianca did not know how to deal with that kind of guilt.
Kendall dropped her crossed arms as she erupted with a statement to fill the silence. "Where the hell is Greenlee? I feel like we called her years ago."
Bianca shrugged, a little stunned by her sister's outburst. "I don't know. I hope she's alright."
"Well, if she is, she won't be when I get to her," Kendall said, only to immediately quiet down when Dr. Frankie Hubbard walked into the room.
"Kendall? Bianca? You have a phone call. It's Greenlee." He waved for the sisters to follow him. With an 'oh great' expression from Kendall, they did, navigating their way through the police, press and friends that had filtered into the hall to see Erica after hearing about her condition.
They finally made it to the phone. Kendall took the receiver in her hand and held it in between her's and Bianca's heads. "Greenlee, where the hell are you?"
Greenlee's shaking voice got on the line. "I wanted to come home and grab a shower before going to the hospital. I figured we'd be stuck there awhile. Anyway, you'll never believe what happened."
"It doesn't matter, Greenlee. Just get down here," Bianca pleaded instantly, knowing had Kendall responded first her response would have been full of expletives. She and Greenlee could fight over literally anything.
Taking a breath, Greenlee said, "Trust me, when I get there you'll see what I mean."
"I still think I should be down there, Myrtle," Opal drawled into the phone. Her heels clicked in the background so her friend could tell Opal was worked up and moving around, probably already on her way out the door.
The aged redhead shook her head though Opal could not see it. "That's not a good idea. It's already a madhouse here at the hospital. More than a madhouse."
"And this from the woman with the carnival background," Opal said, trying to laugh. "Fine. I guess I'll have to stay put. I just don't like doing nothing."
"You can always do something, darling," Myrtle soothed. "You can pray."
Maggie and Natalie walked to their respective cars, both of them shaken by what they found out. Some small part of Maggie was fascinated by the new mystery as her second choice for a career was to be a detective but most of her was terrified of things to come.
It was at that moment her phone rang, causing Maggie to jump a little given the darkness of her thoughts. She offered an embarrassed half smile and blush to Natalia as she opened her car door. She got inside with the door still open and turned the car on. She plugged her phone onto her charger.
The previously dead phone came to life and after the screen lit up it revealed Maggie had several waiting voicemails. Before she could listen to any of them, the phone lit up again, this time with an incoming call.
"It's your step mommy," Maggie said with a chuckle as Natalia did the same.
Maggie picked up the call. "Hello?"
Years ago...
Maggie ripped off her latex gloves so quickly it was as if it was setting her skin aflame the longer they stayed on her. The second they left her hands she let them fall into the garbage and closed the lid.
Maggie had practically grown up in the hospital thanks to her cousin David. She had seen multiple paint jobs come and go, buildings destroyed and rebuilt, florescent lights burned out and replaced. Most importantly lives were saved. David was like her brother and a super hero. He saved lives, brought people back from the dead. Seeing him like that made Maggie think she would worship him forever. She was wrong but her love of hospitals never faded.
Maggie herself had worked at hospitals for years. She was a candy striper at P.V.H. and took odd jobs over the years, working at the call center, working at a morgue. She had finally made it. She was an actual doctor at the hospital she had always longed to work at.
Bianca had made her a special breakfast today. Enough for twenty people. Eggs, bacon, waffles, fruit, vegetables and more. She was so proud that Maggie was finally getting her dream come true. Bianca fell into her own job almost by accident. She was not looking to run Cambius but she enjoyed it. However, this was something Maggie had been looking forward to her whole life, being a doctor at P.V.H. and Bianca would celebrate it with the whole world if she could.
Little did Bianca know that thus far Maggie's whole day had been filled with rectal exams given to less than thrilled patients. Still, she was a doctor in Pine Valley and she loved that. She just did not know how to explain that to Bianca in the detailed report she knew she would be giving tonight.
"You seem to have the magic touch," a voice joked from behind her. "I had my eye on you today."
Maggie turned to find a short, curly haired, African American woman behind her with a light smile. Most important was her eyes. Maggie did not want to say that eyes were the windows to the soul or something cliche like that but she had to admit she associated some people with the look in their eyes. Leo had charming eyes, Frankie had bedroom eyes with a mischievous glint. Bianca and this woman, Dr. Hubbard had kind eyes. That was what Maggie liked to see.
"You had your eye on me today? Because today was not a good day for it. Unless you like to see people with their pants down," Maggie dared to joke.
Dr. Hubbard walked towards her slowly, eying her up and down. "You know I met your cousin David at a medical conference. I cannot stand your cousin. Now, here you are, same blood, same twinkle in your eye, and a doctor."
Maggie's gaze hardened a little. A subtle change but it was obviously detectable to Angie Hubbard as her lips quirked up a little.
"I am nothing like my family. I am hard worker. I am here for good. I am trustworthy," Maggie insisted.
"I can tell," Angie said with a gentle smile that was full of sincerity. "And if that continues to be true, you and I will be the best of friends."
Present Day...
Maggie walked quickly through the hospital with Natalia Hubbard trailing behind her. Natalia was in rather good physical condition as a cop but this was Maggie's stomping grounds and despite the fact that most of Pine Valley has spent a good amount of time at the hospital at one point or another, Maggie knew procedure. This was her place. She knew where her wife would be.
Maggie sharply turned a corner, her shoes gliding gracefully across the large white tile floor. She let out an unconscious sigh of relief out at that moment. Angie came out of one of the patient rooms and spotted Maggie instantly. She quickly walked over to her and wrapped Maggie in her arms.
Angie leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Erica is all right. She's going to get through this. She's going to make it through this."
Maggie was not sure if Angie was saying that because it was true or just to comfort Maggie but she did not care. She was just glad that she found a familiar face now. Answers would come soon. All she needed was one. "Where's Bianca and the kids?"
Pulling away, Angie pointed to a row of chairs by the room she just exited. "She's right over there, sweetheart."
"What's going on, Angie?" Maggie heard Natalia ask from behind her but she did not stay to hear the answer. She marched forward to where her wife was sitting in a small chair outside her mother's room, looking despondently at her shoes. Frankie sat next to her, rubbing circles on her back and whispering things that Maggie could not hear. The image disturbed her greatly but her focus was on Bianca who seemed completely unaware that Frankie was even there as her eyes were devoid of awareness and light.
"Bianca," Maggie called out sweetly, causing Bianca's head to draw up towards her. Her eyes softened immediately as she stood and wobbly ran into Maggie's arms. Maggie cradled Bianca's form against her which was a little interesting given their height difference but they were used to it. Maggie could not remember a time when she and her wife were not there for each other in a time of trouble. She certainly could not remember a time when Frankie was there when she should have been. She let Bianca breathe her in and hold her close for a moment before continuing. "What happened?"
"Anna attacked Erica," Frankie said a little too chipper as she appeared behind Bianca's shoulder. "A real tragedy for sure."
Maggie glared at her sister for a moment which only caused her sister to smile an "innocent grin."
Turning her attention back to her wife, Maggie repeated, "what happened?"
Bianca finally pulled away and glanced at Frankie. "I'd just like to talk this out with Maggie for a minute. Could you excuse us?"
"Yeah sure," Frankie said without a single falter in her expression. She jutted out her thumb behind her where Jack, Kendall, and Trey among others were waiting and talking in whispers. "I'll be over there."
Bianca reached out as Frankie turned and let her hand linger over Frankie's as she genuinely declared, "thank you, for taking care of me."
A half sentimental, half lascivious lopsided grin overtook Frankie's features slowly before she said, "it's no problem."
With a shrug and a smug smile directed at Maggie, Frankie walked towards the others. Bianca quickly grabbed Maggie's hand and lead her into a supply closet. She closed the heavy oak door behind them and took great care to lock the shiny lock behind them. Her eyes surveyed the room carefully to make sure they were completely alone before.
"How's your mother?" Maggie asked tenderly.
"Not out of the woods yet, but there's something else I have to tell you before you hear it from anyone else. They're saying Anna attacked my mother but I don't believe it. I don't believe it for a second. She's our family, Maggie. Maybe not by blood but she's our family," Bianca said.
Despite Bianca's calming words Maggie felt the walls drawing in, a fever of anger overcome her and her jaw drop almost comically were it not for the weight of what was happening in the moment. Her family had disappointed her many times but not Anna. Never Anna.
"How could anyone even think that Anna is remotely capable of this?" Maggie began to shout as Bianca grasped her arms and tried to shush her.
"Everyone wants to believe it's not true but apparently people are saying they got the vibe Anna wanted my mother dead earlier. The two of them never got along and a bottle of Anna's pills were found near my mother and the higher ups at the department didn't know Anna was even being medicated so it all just looks really bad," Bianca said in a rush to calm Maggie down though the information had the opposite effect.
Maggie began to shake with anger and wanted to throw something in that supply room but that kind of temper tantrum was too Ryan Lavery for her taste so she closed her fingers into a fist. She could not help it. Maggie did not do a lot of logic and reasoning when her family was threatened. Her real family that is.
"It has to be Vanessa or David or someone. I mean they swoop into town and this happens," Maggie said obviously. Had everyone in the world lost their minds except for Bianca and her?
Bianca lips curled into a frown and she had trouble meeting Maggie's eyes. Maggie knew there was more. Maggie stepped closer to her and tilted her head up to look Bianca in the eye. She saw a ghost of a smile rise on Bianca's face for a fraction of a second before drawing back in at the seriousness of the situation.
"What?" Maggie probed.
"Maggie, they all have alibis. We're their alibis. Everyone has one except for Anna. They still can't find her," Bianca said somberly.
Worry overtook Maggie's anger. Maggie cast a long look at Bianca, drawing strength from one person she knew she could rely on in this moment before she went out to face the world. Taking a deep breath, Maggie sidestepped Bianca and left the closet.
Maggie's eyes surveyed the hall before walking towards Jackson. He turned to her with sympathetic eyes. He placed a hand on her shoulder and opened his mouth to offer words of comfort but before he could say a word, Maggie began talking. "Who were you with tonight?"
His eyes widened and he backed away from her slightly, upset and unsure what could have brought this question on. "Excuse me?"
"Bianca told me the Kanes alibied the Bennetts. Who did you alibi?" Maggie repeated.
Jackson nodded then and shoved his hands in his pockets the way he did when trying to keep an emotional and physical distance. Maggie could tell he was worried she would be mad at him. Still, he talked. "I was with your mother, Gwen."
"Why?" Maggie asked instantly.
Jackson shook his head for a moment. "It's private."
"Not anymore," Maggie instantly shot back. She regretted the tone she had taken with him and the way she questioned him but this night had been an emotional rollercoaster thus far and she was having trouble holding it together and knowing who to trust.
Jackson chuckled in an attempt to diffuse the tension between them. "What are you a cop? Let the police handle this, Maggie."
"Yeah, Magpie, let them handle this," Frankie said from behind her. Maggie felt the hair raise on the back of her neck and her muscles tense as if she was preparing for a fight just at the sound of Frankie's voice. She hated this feeling. Deep down she loved her sister. She was as much a part of her as her own arm.
Maggie turned around slowly and faced the mirror image of herself with the cocky smile. She eyed her for a minute hoping to see something familiar, maybe hoping to see a bit of herself. The sad thing was she did.
Maggie eyed her calmly. "Tell me you didn't do this. That you had no part in this, Frankie."
Frankie smiled, a put on disbelieving smile. "Hey, I saved Erica. I was the one who called the police and everything."
"Who did this then?" Maggie asked.
Frankie laughed. "Anna Devane. Ask anybody. It was her."
Maggie rushed at her sister, careful not to touch her. Just to scare the crap out of her. It worked. No matter how jaded Frankie was, she was still at least partly a scared little girl and the fear that flashed in her eyes was recognizable from far away as she backed up so quickly she slammed her own body into the wall behind her. Frankie was quick to regain her composure. She was a scrappy little thing and quite the con artist. Being quick in every possibly way was her day to day life.
Frankie quickly planted her feet, straightened her shoulders and put her game face back on. Well, her game face with a mask on top of it. This time the fear in her eyes was placed. She restarted her own erratic breathing, some light body tremors and raised her voice an octave for the benefit of her reluctantly captive audience.
"It was Anna. It was ANNA. I'm telling you, Maggie. Mom was with Jack. Leo was with Greenlee. Trey and I were with Kendall, Josh and your wife! David was at the hospital. Vanessa was with the mayor. Anna is the psycho that is missing. It was Anna. It was ANNA," Frankie screamed.
Maggie was ready to punch her sister in the face but before she could even raise a fist something flashed at the corner of her eye. It was Angie. Angie kept her hand near the pocket of her white lab coat but her hand moved up and down, subtly waving her over.
Maggie gave her sister one last glare but turned and walked away before her sister could smirk or more importantly realize that Maggie did not believe her. Maggie began walking down the hall towards Angie and Bianca who had apparently joined her.
Bianca walked towards Maggie as well so they met in the middle of the hallway. They did not slow down until they were in each other's arms again. Bianca moved her lips and placed a kiss on Maggie's ear before whispering, "David made a scene at the station a good hour at least before making it to the hospital. No one knows where he was in between that time."
Maggie nodded and reciprocated a kiss in the juncture of Bianca's neck and shoulder before releasing her. "Good to know."
The pair began to follow Angie down the halls of the hospital at a quickened pace. Out of the corner of her eye, Maggie saw someone being wheeled by on a gurney. Blood blanketed the man's face and he was unconscious. It reminded Maggie of the gravity of the situation they were now in and she made a mental note to check on Erica as soon as possible.
Finally, Maggie saw what Angie had caught her attention for. The wind was nearly knocked out of her lungs. It was Anna, laying in plain sight on a gurney.
Anna rolled her head to the side after a second and spotted Maggie. She sat up quickly but Greenlee kept her from leaving the gurney. Angie, Maggie and Bianca raced towards them.
"No one knows she's here yet," Angie informed them as she picked up where she apparently left off, checking Anna's pupils.
"Are you okay?" Maggie asked as Bianca simultaneously asked, "Where have you been?"
Maggie thought it was odd that Bianca was focusing on that detail but put her own focus on Anna.
"How I am is to be determined," Anna said with a nod to Angie who continued checking her out. "As for where I've been, I have no idea."
Bianca and Maggie's eyes widened but Anna merely shrugged.
"I found her in my apartment wandering around a little while ago," Greenlee explained. "She was totally disoriented."
"I think I was chloroformed," Anna whispered as her eyes darted around. It was then Bianca noticed how dilated Anna's eyes were.
"Who did this to you?" Maggie said, as she sat down on the gurney and put her arm around Anna. She hoped that Anna would identify her attacker and was surprised when she hoped that it would turn out not to be one of her relatives.
"I don't know," Anna slightly slurred. "I know it wasn't David, but it was one of them probably. I don't know."
Anna's eyes suddenly rolled back into her head and she tipped over until she was asleep against the gurney. Maggie leapt off the gurney and began searching for rubber gloves so she could begin to help.
Angie was a step ahead of her as she began tending to Anna's immediate crisis while shaking her head no. "You are not going into that O.R., Stone."
Maggie spun around to face her friend. "What?"
"You're too emotionally involved. I don't want you touching Anna or Erica. We are your fellow doctors Maggie. We got your back." Angie assured her as she began wheeling Anna away.
Maggie knew they were right but it did not change the helpless feeling she had. She felt tears stinging her eyes at the sight of Anna unconscious and began to swipe them away as Bianca's arms began to circle her from behind. She sensed a lost Greenlee gravitating towards them as well.
Knowing it was futile but needing to say it anyway, Maggie brokenly whispered, "I want to help."
Apparently Angie heard her. She called out to Maggie as her son Frankie joined her in wheeling the gurney forward. "Just stay with Bianca. We're going to help Maggie. I promise."
Frankie leisurely walked to the empty hospital parking lot where her mother and Trey were sitting on the hood of David's car. David stood next to them, nervously swinging his hands in the pockets of his white lab coat.
"Erica is down and everything is going according to plan," Frankie announcrd. Her mother practically salivated at the statement and Frankie did not know if it was from the news that things were according to plan or that Erica Kane was finally incapacitated. She had to admit she was expecting a little jolt from the latter herself but it did not make her as happy as she would think. It gave her a strange pressure in her stomach just thinking about it.
"Fine. Can I go back to work?" David asked.
Gwen scoffed. "Work? How about a celebration?"
"Celebration?" Leo yelled as he stormed towards them. "I'm gone for a few hours and you people decide to attack Erica and Anna?"
"Attack Anna?" Trey asked. "We just chloroformed her and mom said Erica would make a full recovery? Right? Right?"
Trey looked around desperately for support but no one had time to give it to him as Leo continued.
"Well, mother just drugged Anna, so we gotta go. David, we'll see you at home," Leo ordered, jutting out a thumb behind him. Frankie, Gwen and Trey were instantly on their game and their feet, moving towards Leo before David grabbed Leo roughly by the lapels.
"What do you mean Mom drugged Anna? What did she give her? WHAT DID SHE DO?" David yelled. Leo brushed his brother's hands away, too angry and panicked to deal with him.
"Later David. We got to go. NOW!"