John smiled slightly as he parked his car. As a challenge, he'd spent five days alone in the wilderness. Surprisingly, he'd survived. Camping had been on the long list of things that John McBain would never do. He was actively taking strides to be a better man, so stepping outside of his comfort zone was definitely the right move.
More surprising than his survival was his excitement to get back. He'd always been friendly enough, but he kept people at arm's length. He figured if he never got close to anyone, he'd never get hurt. That hadn't worked so well in Llanview, but he knew why. This time would be different. He would make sure of it.
He rubbed his hand over his chin. He was desperately in need of a shave, but that could wait. He walked around the back of the bar and through the parking lot. He noted the green Honda parked near the front. That meant Jill was there.
He'd extended the olive branch expecting that they would hang out occasionally, but Jill surprised him. She was at the bar four or five nights a week. She chatted with John a lot, but she also appreciated the attention she got from some of the male patrons. Perry had been quick with a compliment, so they had been flirty for a time. The town had a large population of college students, so Jill was glad for the attention she got from a younger man.
John thought they might become an item. That was until Jill let herself get drunk one night. She'd pre-gamed at another bar and then showed up to the Whispering Spirits. Perry cut her off at two drinks, but she was already very drunk at that point. Perry's shift ended early, so he offered to take her home. He walked her to the door like a gentleman and that had been a mistake. She was all over him, using all of her feminine charms to get him to come inside. He politely refused and was able to get her inside safely without going inside himself.
John was angry when he heard the story. He didn't blame Perry for doing the right thing. He was instead angry with Jill for putting them both in a bad situation. Jill had been embarrassed as she expected a different reaction from John. She still had a crush on John, so she still hung around the bar, even after John imposed a hard three drink maximum on her.
For the safety of the other patrons and staff, he had to make a rule that no one was to drive home drunk patrons. If a patron happened to get drunk, the bartender was responsible for calling a rideshare driver of the same sex and making sure they got into the right vehicle. The hassle of the extra work lessened the occurrence of bartenders letting people get carried away.
When he entered the bar, he saw Jill, Perry, and a couple of other regulars in what appeared to be a heated conversation. He smiled as he approached them. This place was really starting to feel like home.
"I don't know," the scruffy man sipped his beer and shrugged his shoulders.
"Well, I do. The kid should be locked away." Jill tossed her hair over her shoulder and sipped her beer conservatively. "We don't even need to debate this. We have laws for a reason."
Perry and the other patrons didn't vocalize their opinions. Perry saw John moving out of the corner of his eye. "Well look at that. He survived." He grabbed a glass and started to fill it up for John. "Looks like you need one of these." He passed it between patrons to John.
"Looks like you need a shave. Bad." Jill smiled at his overgrown facial hair. John looked especially delicious in his rugged apparel.
"Beer first. Everything else later." John rewarded her with a warm smile and a wink. He unzipped and removed his coat and vest. They'd kept him warm outdoors, but the warmth in the bar made him wish he wasn't wearing a long-sleeved shirt. He decided to have a round of drinks with everyone then go upstairs and get cleaned up. If Jill was still around, maybe he'd invite her out for dinner.
"So, what's your opinion on all of this, John? You used to be a cop, so I'm sure you've got a take on this." Perry leaned against the bar. He wanted to hear how John's trip was, but this was more important.
John raised an eyebrow as he looked over his glass. "I'm not sure I have an opinion. I'm not exactly sure what we're talking about here." He wiped away the moisture from his mustache. The surprised look on everyone's faces gave him pause. "Something big? C'mon, somebody fill me in."
"Kid almost shoots up a school, and you don't even hear about it?" A woman spoke from behind Jill.
John's face deepened into a frown. He'd intentionally cut himself off from the outside world during his wilderness retreat. Perry knew where he would be in case of an emergency, but other than that he'd not been available. "No, I didn't." John shook his head. School shootings were a popular new trend that was becoming normalized. He'd never had to deal with that kind of mess and was glad for it.
"It was one of Jill's students too. Kind of stuff just makes me sick to my stomach. I just don't think I can talk about this anymore." The woman had been there with a companion and pulled her away as she left.
John looked at Jill with concern. She seemed okay, but maybe she was just good at hiding her panic. "Hey, you okay?" John stepped around the scruffy old man that was between them and touched her shoulder tenderly.
"Yeah, I mean, no." Jill saw the concern on John's face and was willing to take advantage of his kindness.
"Well if you're not okay, then Diva's probably a hot mess." Perry was friendly with Jill, but he wasn't a fan of hers. He knew her type and didn't want to see John caught up in her web. He hoped mentioning Diva would distract him from Jill.
"Diva?" John's hand froze on Jill's back.
Jill shot Perry an angry look that he ignored. "Can we please not talk about her?" Jill still hadn't gotten over her grudge. John stated plainly that he wasn't interested, but Jill blamed Eva for making her look so pathetic in front of him.
"What about Diva?" John's voice was elevated just slightly. Thoughts of Eva crossed his mind more than a few times during his wilderness retreat. He hadn't spoken to her in weeks because he hadn't quite found the right words to approach her. She was scheduled to sing the Saturday after Thanksgiving, so he'd been building himself up for that next interaction.
"She doesn't think that kid should go to jail. She's been complaining about him deserving a second chance." Jill skirted the facts hoping that no one else would be more candid.
"If anyone gets to have a say in it, I think it's her." The scruffy old man spoke again. He was a Diva admirer, so he gave her the benefit of the doubt.
Jill scoffed and was about to speak again before Perry interrupted her. "I agree! The kid nearly blew her head off. If she can forgive him, everyone else should too." Perry saw the look on John's face. In that moment, all of his suspicions were confirmed. John and Diva were more than just old acquaintances. They had been lovers. Their brief and angry encounters now made perfect sense.
John felt a slight tug at his shirt as he walked off. Without a word, he grabbed his vest and coat and hurried out of the bar. He had only one thought on his mind, and he didn't care if everyone knew what it was.
Perry gave Jill a smug a smug look. "Called it."
Eva paced around her living room hoping for a spark of inspiration. She'd pulled out all of Evangeline's old law books that Lisa sent and had furiously looked through them. It might as well have been Greek to her. She didn't know where to start, and time was running out.
"Who in the hell?" She turned startled at the sound of someone pounding on her front door. Her first instinct was to grab a gun, but then she heard the sound of a familiar voice.
"Eva, it's me, John. Open up." John continued to pound on the door.
"Just what I need." Eva rolled her eyes as she walked over to the door. She pulled the door open and was greeted with a cold wind and a very worried John McBain. "McBain, you'd better have a damn good," she stopped as he pushed past her and stepped inside. "Excuse you?"
"Are you okay?" John grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her over. She looked unharmed and he was glad for that. His heart was still racing, but now he could finally catch his breath. He'd broken the speed limit and run a red light to get to her. It killed him that she was in danger, again, and he wasn't there for her. "Why didn't you call me?"
"Why would I?" She pushed his arms away from her and moved out of his reach. Because the event occurred on school property, her name as well as the other victims' names were kept out of the press. If there was any silver lining, it was that she wouldn't have to worry Lisa again.
For a moment, John had forgotten that he was talking to Eva. She didn't have any reason to reach out to him. He felt like an idiot for showing up so abruptly, but he was able to confirm with his own to eyes that she was unharmed. Bad decision or not, he was glad that she was okay. "You agreed to do two more shows. I gotta protect my investment." John joked in a very somber voice.
Eva walked over to her spot on the sofa and sat down with a heavy sigh. She was too frustrated to go off on John. She put her head in her hands and wondered what her next step should be.
John took her not asking him to leave as an invitation to stay. He pulled off his coat and tossed it onto the back of the chair near the sofa. He moved some books off the sofa and sat down. He noted that they were legal volumes. The guys at the bar said she didn't think the kid should go to jail. To John, it looked like she was looking for a way to keep him out of jail.
"Jokes aside. Really, are you alright?" John glanced over at her.
Eva pulled her knees up to her chest and gave him an exasperated look. "Everyone keeps asking if I'm okay. Clearly, I'm fine." That wasn't exactly true. She had a little tinnitus from the gun going off so close to her, but otherwise she was fine.
John nodded. "Want to tell me what happened?"
Eva looked at him suspiciously. He didn't look like the John she remembered. His beard was overgrown, and the hiking boots, vest, and flannel shirt made him look like a lumberjack. She thought twice about telling him to leave. He looked genuinely concerned about her, so she waivered.
"Sometimes it helps just to get it out. I'm not so good a talker, but I'm a pretty good listener." John turned his body on the sofa so that he was looking directly at her. Evangeline had always played tough for others, but she let her guard down for John. He hadn't always been there to comfort her when she was scared. He wanted to make up for that now. "This is the third time for you. Almost dying never gets any easier." John knew what he was getting into when he put his life on the line. He couldn't imagine how scary it had been for her to have gone through this so many times and without warning.
"Fourth," Eva interjected. She saw the surprised look on his face and quickly changed the topic. "I'm fine, John. You don't have to do this."
John dropped his head and nodded. The information from her sudden outburst would be stored for later. He was afraid she would shut him out if he pushed too hard. As usual the right words escaped him. Determined to be her friend, he decided to just wait her out. She still wasn't telling him to leave and that meant something.
Eva folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head back. She actually needed to vent. For some reason, she knew it was okay to let her guard down around him. She didn't understand why, so that still made her nervous.
"It was just another Monday," she started to revisit the story that she would rather forget. She gave John all of the details the same as she had the detectives. She was factual, detailed, and neutral.
John listened intently on pins and needles but never interrupted. Eva told the story in a monotone voice. It sounded like she was recalling someone else's memory instead of her own. That had been something Evangeline had done. She distanced herself from the painful memories choosing instead to store them as facts entered into evidence.
"And that's pretty much it. Now that kid is going to spend the rest of his life in jail, and his bully will get off with a stern warning. He wasn't trying to shoot me. He got startled and the gun went off." Eva was still looking up at the ceiling as she wrapped up her story. She could feel the tears building up inside of her. The last thing she wanted to do was cry. "I saved life his for what?"
"Situation like that. You don't think. You just do." John said a silent prayer. Eva was lucky to have survived. After the gun went off, the police had good reason to open fire. It was Eva's quick thinking that saved that kid's life.
Eva remembered grabbing the boy and wrapping her arms around him. If the cops were going to shoot, they were going to have to shoot her too. Eva was shocked by her own reaction, and the boy was too. He dropped the gun. He cried on her shoulder and held her desperately until the cops came and wrestled him to the ground. "I'm not saying he's better off dead. I'm not saying that at all. But you know what the system is like. It's just going to turn him into an even worse person."
John knew the system was flawed, but he was torn on the issue of youth offenders. A lot of kids just get worse when they're given light sentences and second chances. But he had been one of those second chance kids, so he knew there was some merit for leniency. Luckily, he had good influences to keep him on the straight and narrow. Most reoffenders were just inserted back into a situation that would almost guarantee that they'd have to reoffend as a method of survival. "It's unfortunate, but people are really trying to put a stop to school shootings. He brought that gun to school for a reason. Didn't sound like he planned to use it that day, but maybe he was just building up his courage."
"He's not that kind of kid." Eva angrily kicked a book off the table.
"I thought you said you didn't know the kid." John tried to bring her to the side of reason. She was probably too close to be objective.
"This isn't just me being emotional. If anything, I'd have a good reason to say lock him up and throw away the key, but that's the easy way out." Eva sat up and looked at him with pleading eyes. "The kid's mother is on drugs. His father is in jail. He lives alone with his alcoholic, sex offender grandfather."
John gave her a knowing look. Lots of kids had crappy home lives and a lot of them ended up in the system. It wasn't fair, but the law hadn't found a suitable situation yet.
"Don't give me that look, John. His grandfather used the money for the bills on alcohol. That meant that the electricity bill and water bill didn't get paid. So, in his infinite wisdom, his grandfather gave him the gun to take to school. He was supposed to sell it to one of the grandfather's friend's after school. The kid never should have brought the gun to school, but what option did he have?"
"Talk to a teacher?" John knew they were mandatory reporters, so the boy did have other avenues to turn to.
Eva laughed. "Some good that would do. The kid smelled like he hadn't showered in days. He was wearing dirty clothes. Yet, no one pulled him aside to ask if everything was okay at home. They all ignored the problem hoping it would just go away. Why would he have any faith in them?" Eva kept asking the hard questions. She was right and she needed someone to agree with her.
"Just sounds like a pretty crap situation all around," John relented, "but what would you have them do? A slap on the wrist can't be the answer." John saw the sad look on her face but didn't understand.
"I know that!" She stood and started to pace. "I'm not saying that he doesn't deserve to be punished. If they don't reduce the charges or modify them, he is looking at a twenty-five-year sentence, minimum. He is fifteen years old and he has already been living in hell. Now they want to punish him because he reached his breaking point. He never had a chance. He at least deserves a chance to live a normal life." Eva looked down at the books and felt her headache starting to build again.
"The poor kid already wants to give up and his lawyer is telling him to take a deal." Eva had met with his public defender who was less than interested in the case. He was giving sound advice, as taking a deal was probably in the kid's best interest. "I went to see him in jail… For the first time in a long time, he has a bed to sleep in, clean clothes, electricity, running water, and he doesn't have to wonder where his next meal is coming from. He's actually happy. How sad is that?"
"Must have been hard seeing him like that." John knew he wouldn't have the right words to comfort her. "I know it's a conflict of interest for you to represent him directly, but if anyone can figure something out to help him it's you." John's words were barely out of his mouth before she started laughing.
She tried to laugh as not to cry, but she'd been holding it in for too long. "That's just it! I can't! I'm not a lawyer." She saw John's frown and understood. "I'm. Not. Evangeline. I didn't go to law school."
"All of a sudden you forgot?" John still remembered why he was here in the first place. It was Eva's doing.
"I never remembered. That rapist helped me plant a seed in the right politician's ear. Someone looking to boost their public opinion did all the work, not that there really was any. You resigned, so your guilt was presumed. Bo and Laura didn't really put up any resistance. If you three had put up any kind of fight, he would have backed off." Eva's complaint had merit, but it had been sensationalized for maximum media coverage. The Buchanan's always looked after each other; even if they were at odds with each other. Clint had enough dirt on the politician that everyone could have gotten off with no punishment at all, but they'd all been too ethical for that.
John's frown only deepened. Her referring to Nora as Laura and Todd as that rapist were telling signs that amnesia was more severe than he'd imagined. Those two had been some of her closest friends in Llanview. She'd risked her career for Todd. Blair had even suggested that Todd and Evangeline had feelings for each other. For reasons that John couldn't understand, Evangeline cared deeply for Todd, but he hoped it wasn't romantic.
"You should be gloating, John. I'm a hypocrite. I'm sitting here pouting because I can't ask for special treatment of a boy that I think deserves another chance. Not much different than what you did. You also warned me about burning bridges, albeit way too late. I tried reaching out to some of Evangeline's old contacts, but no one will even take my calls. With the way I've treated people, no one wants to feel used and abused." She'd used Todd the most all while keeping him arm's length. When she had no need for him, she'd tossed him aside. She was especially cruel even though he'd done his best to stay in contact with her throughout her coma.
John did see the parallels in the situations, but there was nothing funny. The Evangeline he knew believed in justice the same way that he did. They helped people that couldn't help themselves. Both of them had broken the rules, but for the right reasons. They put themselves on the line to help others. No one should fault them for that. "Nothing to gloat about. You want to do right by that kid. No matter how this thing turns out, you did all you could."
"And it's still not enough. Decent people shouldn't have their lives ruined over one mistake." Eva walked back to the sofa and sat down with a heavy sigh. Elbows on her knees, she dropped her head into her hands and cried out her frustrations.
John sat in silence listening to her crying. It killed him inside that there wasn't anything he could say to take her pain away. She was calling herself Eva, but her words sounded very much like Evangeline's. Her father had a lapse in judgement that led to the loss of his career and his marriage. Evangeline believed that stress was a large contributor to his early demise. "Hey," John called to get her attention. He held his arms out for her offering a hug.
Eva looked up at John with a tear streaked face. He had a compassionate look on his face that looked sincere, but her mother's and sister's words resonated in her head. John never loved Evangeline even though she loved him. Their relationship had not really been anything more than physical for him. She wondered if he would really be low enough to take advantage of her at this time. She knew it was a bad idea to be vulnerable near him, but she was emotionally exhausted and desperately in need of comfort. She moved hesitantly into his arms. She was resolved to accept the consequences later. Maybe if he acted shamelessly, it'd light a fire in her that would help out her student. She'd certainly cut off his balls if he did.
John shifted so that she could settle in comfortable. He wrapped one arm around her to keep her in close. He held her silently not feeling the familiar longing that he always had when they were this close. He would show her that it was okay for her to let her guard down around him. He wanted her friendship and would take all the right steps to get it.
Eva remained in John's arms long after she'd stopped crying. She hadn't come up with any brilliant plans to help her student. Her heart was still broken, but she was starting to accept that maybe she'd done all she could. She still planned on asking for leniency at his hearing. This student would be lost to the system, so she vowed not to let it happen again.
Eva only had to shift lightly for John to catch on. "You alright?" He watched as she nodded a response. "You going to be okay here all alone?" The familiar words made John's heart ache. He consumed by pain over his own losses and it made it hard for him and Evangeline to relate to each other. He could finally recognize that pain was pain, and she'd experienced more than her fair share as well.
"I've got to be, right?" She wiped away the tears that remained and scooted slightly away from John. He'd been a complete gentleman and that was a pleasant surprise. "Thank you. I really appreciate this, John. I've been…well, I've been kind of a bitch, and you didn't deserve that."
"Your words, not mine." John tapped her arm lightly hoping the joke would be well received. Her smile was comforting. "No worries. This is what friends do." John stood up and stretched. He wouldn't push his luck and overstay his welcome.
Eva stood and walked with him to the door. She enjoyed John's company but was glad to be alone again. She had a lot to think about and some important decisions to make. "I guess I don't have to tell you to stay warm out there." She noted his attire and wondered what the story was. His smile made her feel warm all over. It was definitely time for him to go. "Be safe out there, John."
He stepped outside and waited for the sound of her lock engaging before he started to make his way back to his car. He pulled out his phone and searched through his contacts as he pulled open the door. It was getting late on the East Coast, but he knew the recipient of the call wouldn't mind. He was pulling out of Eva's driveway when he got an answer.
"John Freaking McBain. What's a guy like me do to deserve a call from you?"
John rolled his eyes at the corny greeting. He was about to sell his soul. Now wasn't the time for jokes. "I haven't talked to you in a year and this is the greeting I get." John drove slowly to make up for the speeding he'd done before.
"It's because I haven't heard from you that I'm calling. I was sure you were going to jump on my offer, but I heard you ran off to Washington. What the hell is out there? Thought your family is in Jersey."
"Long story. Look, I won't keep you because I'm sure I'm taking you away from some pretty young thing," John flattered the man, remembering his incessant rantings about only wanting to date college girls. "I need a favor." John wasn't going to say anything in front of Eva, but there was a chance that he might be able to get some consideration for her student given his circumstances. Eva needed a win, and John knew what that was like.
"I like how bold you are." The man paused for a moment. "You know what I want. Since you're such a stand-up guy who always does the right thing, I'm going to give you this one for free."
John had to laugh at that. "Guess I'd better make it something big. Kid brought a gun to school. He did threaten some people, but no one was hurt. The gun was discharged accidentally. He's looking at twenty-five minimum."
"Crap, John. How do always get mixed up in the craziest stuff." The man paused for a moment, "You know, I'm probably not going to answer the next time you call."
"Thought so. Kid's about to take a deal, so let me know." John hung up without any other dialogue. It was out of his hands now.