Goodbye Yesterday Ch2
Disclaimer: The characters of Yellowstone belong solely to Taylor Sheridan and John Linson.
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The sun rose over the valley and created a sparkle in the field as it shined through the dew drops covering the grass. Rip fidgeted with his pocket knife, wondering if it was still too early to go find his future father in law, to ask him a few questions. He sat alone on the porch, he came outside so he wouldn't wake Beth. She'd come find him after waking up alone.
After about an hour he heard the soft padding of her feet across the wood floor before the front door creaked open. Out came a half naked Beth wrapped in a quilt.
"Good mornin', honey." He greeted her, his deep voice still raspy from having not spoken to anyone yet.
"Did you sleep at all?" She made herself at home in his lap, draping her legs over the arm of the chair.
"I slept enough." He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. She knew that was a lie. Ever since she told him about what Jamie did he hadn't been himself. "You wanna come up to the main house with me? I need to talk to your dad."
Beth gently caressed his cheek with the back of her hand and pressed her lips to his. "Sure, baby. Give me a few minutes." She headed back inside to get dressed, hoping she was wrong about what he needed to talk to her father about.
When the two of them got to the house Rip left Beth with Monica and Tate during their math lesson, and went to find John.
Rip found him in his office and knocked softly on the door frame.
"Hey, Rip." John looked up from a hoard of papers.
"Sir, can uh... Can we talk?" Rip shut the door behind him.
"What's going on?" John furrowed his brow, wondering what the hell was going on now.
"I know this is a sore subject for everyone, but I'm wondering if you have any idea where Jamie is?" Rip took his hat off and held it over his torso. He knew the coward had resigned as attorney general, presumably so he was no longer of any help to his father. There was no telling where he was.
John laughed at the idea of anyone caring where that boy was. "Honestly, I haven't even given it a second thought, but come to think of it, the answer requires a pre-explanation."
"Okay." Rip shook his head ready to hear what he had to say.
In the dining room Beth politely excused herself and quietly tiptoed down the hall, finding the door to her father's office closed.
"Beth doesn't know this yet. After everything that's happened I just haven't found a good time to bring it up." He told Rip. When Beth heard her name she leaned in, pressing her ear against the door.
"Evelyn and I adopted Jamie as a three month old baby. His dad murdered his drug addict mom and there was no other family to take him. We didn't have any kids yet, and Evelyn she just couldn't stand the thought of anyone but us taking him in." Rip could see the pain in John's eyes, but he couldn't tell if it was for the loss of another son, or because he never felt the same love for Jamie as he did for his other three children. John continued to explain how Jamie had found out about the adoption on his own, confronted John and that was one of the last times he saw him.
Beth couldn't believe what she just heard, and was not about to be left out of this conversation, so she barged right in.
"Beth! That door was closed for a reason." Rip snapped.
She ignored him, walking right up to her dad's desk. "Jamie was adopted?" She threw her head back and laughed. "Saying that explains a lot would be a gross understatement."
Rip was annoyed. He stepped closer to Beth, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Can I please talk with your dad alone?" He pleaded.
"No. Not about this." She stood firmly in place. Beth was sick of all the secrets. If this were about anything else she wouldn't have cared, but when she heard her and Jamie's names... She knew that was her business too.
Rip looked to John, and the two men shared a knowing look. Both of them knew it was no use arguing with the woman.
"So, you think he might have gone to find his birth father?" Rip asked.
"I know that's what he did. I can't say for sure if that's where he is now or not. Why are you trying to find him?" John asked, but as soon as he saw Beth's face he knew exactly why. She must've told Rip what Jamie did to her. "I don't know that I ever wanna see that ungrateful piece of shit again."
That was all the validation, and permission, Rip needed, from John anyway. Beth stared at the floor. Rip walked over and guided her to sit down in the chair next to her. She brushed his hands off of her, and he was a little hurt.
"You're not going to kill Jamie." She demanded through gritted teeth. "I didn't tell either one of you so you could avenge me. I've been working on making his life miserable since the day I found out."
Rip sighed and took the seat next to her. "I'm not gonna let him run away and live some happy life after what he did to you, and running off on this family."
John interjected. "Sweetheart, I agree with Rip."
Beth was fuming by this point. She wasn't surprised that these two saw it as their responsibility to take care of Jamie, but it was still frustrating. "Jamie doesn't deserve to get off that easy! If you wanna do something we're doing it my way." The men exchanged glances and looked back to Beth. "I had him ready to kill himself, Daddy. I know how to get to him."
"Okay." John motioned his hands toward them. "I'll let the two of you handle it. Here..." He opened a drawer and dug through some files. "Here's all the adoption paperwork, and any information I have on his father, current address and everything you need is in there." He handed the papers to Rip.
Beth stormed out of the room, expecting Rip to follow. He rolled his eyes, thinking he'd get to her in a minute, but was grateful she hadn't stuck around for his next question.
"One last thing, sir... Did Jamie seem in a good headspace the last time you talked to him?" Rip circled a hand around his head showing what he meant.
"I don't think he's been okay since before he killed that reporter." John told him.
"Look I might be over analyzing something here, but the day of the attacks, when I couldn't find any of you I called Jamie to see if he knew what was going on. All he said was 'I don't think you should call me anymore' then he hung up." At the time Rip was so focused on finding Beth, Kayce and John that he didn't think twice of it, but looking back he wondered if it were possible Jamie was involved in the attacks.
John was silent, staring into space.
"Is it at all possible..." Rip started.
"Fuck." John slapped the papers off of his desk and stood, running a hand over his head. He couldn't believe he hadn't considered Jamie for the attacks. Had they been wasting valuable resources by chasing the wrong leads? "It's very possible, Rip. You focus on finding him. I'll work on finding any evidence he may have left behind."
"Thank you, sir." Rip nodded and followed after Beth.
John massaged his temples and let out a laugh. He knew Rip was well versed in dealing with Beth, but there was no getting used to it.
Rip jogged down the front steps and through the yard to catch up with her. "Hey!" He gently grabbed her shoulders, making sure she wouldn't run off again "I'm sorry I went behind your back to your dad."
Beth took a shaky, deep breath and met Rip's gaze with hers. "We're gonna do this my way."
"Okay." He brushed her bangs to the side and kissed her forehead.
She took the folder from him and sat down in the grass. They read through everything together, and wrote down the biological father, Garrett Randall's, address and got to work.
In the truck on the way to the man's house Beth was quiet. Rip reached over and took her hand in his. She gave him a reassuring squeeze, letting him know she was okay. Her mind was busy thinking of all the ways she could ruin whatever shred of happiness Jamie must have found after abandoning his family. He didn't get to run away. He didn't get to be happy.
"This is it." Rip announced as they pulled into a short driveway leading to a small decaying ranch house with a couple tiny outbuildings that looked like workshops. Jamie's car wasn't anywhere to be seen. He put the truck in park, and looked to Beth. "Guess it would be a waste of breath asking you to stay here?"
"Yep." She popped the passenger door open and jumped out.
Wasting no time, they walked up to the front door and knocked. Moments later a man who looked to be in his late sixties, with messy, short grey hair and a stubble-y beard opened the door.
"You Garrett Randall?" Rip's voice was deep and serious.
"Who wants to know?" The man grumbled.
"John Dutton. That's who." Rip looked down at Garrett and took a step toward him. The man puffed his chest in response, not backing down.
Beth rolled her eyes at the interaction and placed a hand on Rip's chest, stepping between them. "We're looking for Jamie. Is he here?"
"I haven't seen him for a couple months. I think he's with that Christina girl he told me all about. He said she's got an apartment in Billings. That's all I know." He threw his hands up in surrender, offering up any information he had, not wishing to be any part of what was going on.
"Alright thanks." Rip mumbled and took Beth's hand, leading them back to the truck.
Rip stared straight ahead as he drove, trying to hide his frustration at the situation, when suddenly he was snapped out of it.
"Got it!" Beth yelled, finally looking up from her phone. She'd been staring at it since they left Garrett's place. "Oak Grove Apartments."
"Hm?" Rip raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the screen she was showing him.
"I looked up Christina's Facebook. You can't be a campaign manager and not have social media. I found a picture of her and some friend with an apartment complex in the background and looked up different ones in Billings until I found it." She smiled over at him.
"You're brilliant." He reached over and stroked her cheek, wondering what he would ever do without her.
"Well we still have to find out which apartment is hers. I have a feeling we'll need you for that part." She winked at him.
Beth was exactly right too. They found the landlord in his office, but he wouldn't give them Christina's apartment number without a little brute force. Rip let the man down from the wall he held him against, and thanked him. The two of them headed up the stairs to apartment D10. Beth's heart was racing. She stopped for a moment. This was all happening so fast she just needed a minute to process it. Rip took a few steps before he realized Beth wasn't next to him.
"What's wrong?" His eyes turned from hard, and unforgiving to worried and loving in seconds flat.
"We didn't talk about what we're gonna do when we find him..." Beth looked up, her eyes pleading for him not to lose himself and go too far.
"What do you want to do?" He took her hands in his and she ran a thumb over his calloused knuckles.
"Just promise me he'll live? Death would be too kind for him." Her voice hardened with that last part. She was ready.
Rip shook his head in agreement. "Let's go."
When they found the right apartment Beth took a deep breath and knocked on the door. No one answered right away so she knocked again. Finally the door opened to reveal a heavily pregnant Christina. Beth's eyes almost bulged out of her head. Rip's heart sank for her and his blood began to boil.
"Jamie!" Christina yelled over her shoulder, she turned back to Beth. "What do you want? Why are you here?"
"I just wanna see my darling brother. This doesn't concern you." Beth shot the expectant mother her best fake smile, and shooed her away with her hands. She retreated into the apartment, but stayed within earshot.
Jamie came running, probably thinking something was wrong. Rip laughed when he saw him. Something was about to be wrong. He scoffed when he saw his sister and brother-in-law.
"What's wrong, Jamie? Not in the mood for a family reunion? Or were you hoping I was dead?" Beth mocked.
Jamie was reeling, trying to rein himself in, especially in front of Christina. "How the fuck did you find us?"
"Oh please. Miss bubble butt in there made it pretty easy." She knew that would provoke him.
"You're not gonna talk about her that way." Jamie spat back and stepped up to Beth, inches from her face.
Rip stepped between them, grabbing Jamie by the collar of his shirt. "I think you'd better take a step back."
Jamie pushed forward, looking over Rip's shoulder. "I see you're using Dad's muscle to do your dirty work now, Beth." Rip pinned him against the door frame and all he did was laugh. "I guess that makes sense. The only difference between you and I is that I broke free. You're still his little puppet."
That evil grin Jamie gave him had Rip ready to smash his head in, but that's not what Beth wanted, so he just pulled him forward and pushed him back against the frame, hard.
"No, brother. He's here to keep you from doing what you did to that reporter to me..." Beth stepped closer to get in his face. "...and let's not forget I know how you like to hit women." She teased. Referring to that night in the barn when he should've walked away, but instead punched her back. "Oh! Not to mention your fondness for blowing up your family."
Christina gasped and covered her mouth. She shouldn't be surprised that he lied to her about having nothing to do with Sarah Nguyen's death, but hitting women? What was Beth talking about? She still hadn't experienced Jamie's mad, what it looked like, or how it manifested itself. She ran into their bedroom and started packing a bag. She was going home for a while. If she had the baby there, so be it. It was just made abundantly clear that Jamie
probably didn't deserve to be part of their daughter's life. If he was capable of killing a reporter to keep a story from coming out what was he capable of doing to her?
"Why don't you come with us?" Rip pulled Jamie forward.
Before Jamie could respond Christina pushed her way through everyone, and out the door. "Don't bother. I'm leaving."
"Wh-what? No! What about our baby? Where are you going?" His eyes widened and he fought against Rip's grip.
Rip didn't even think about letting go, knowing full well what Jamie was capable of, he wasn't letting him near that woman right now. Beth, however inappropriate, let out a joyous laugh, covering her eyes and peeking between her fingers.
"You don't get to know where I'm going. Get your stuff out of my apartment, and stay away from me. I'll have a restraining order filed for me, and the baby, if I have to." Christina made her intentions clear, and then she was gone.
"She's smarter than I originally thought her to be! Now, in we go." Beth motioned the three of them inside and shut the door.
Rip threw Jamie into a small arm chair and pulled some zip ties out of his pockets, tying his arms down so he didn't have to keep holding onto him. "You're gonna tell us who you paid to off your family."
Beth stepped forward and slapped Jamie across the face as hard as she could. He was crying already. "Why Kayce?" She hit him again. "I know why you hate me and I know in your twisted brain that you hate Dad, but why Kayce?!" She hit him a third time.
Rip stood back and let it happen, but when Jamie didn't respond to Beth's questioning; he threw a punch of his own. "Answer her." He growled.
"It wasn't me!" He cried. "God I wish it was. I hate all of you so much. I wouldn't have targeted Kacey. He's the only person with a heart and a good head on his shoulders in this family."
Beth could tell he was sincere, about that at least. She looked to Rip and nodded, giving him permission. She walked over to their breakfast bar and took a seat at one of the stools.
"I don't think I need to tell you what this is for." Rip got right to it. Beth noticed something change in his eyes, almost like they turned dark. That might frighten some people, but she wasn't some people. He pounded his fists into Jamie's face, chest, and abdomen. When he decided that was enough he cut Jamie free, but the man didn't move from the chair.
Beth hopped down from her seat and sauntered over. "I told you..." She knelt down in front of him. "That I couldn't wait to kill your happiness. You..." She poked at his chest. "...don't deserve it, and you definitely don't deserve that sweet baby, you sorry sack of shit." With that she stood and headed for the door. Ready to leave him in her past forever.
Jamie stumbled into a standing position, and Rip turned to him. "You get your shit and leave. Christina and that baby are better off without you. If I find out you contacted her for any reason other than forfeiting your parental rights, I'll hunt you down myself. You hear me?"
"Uh-huh." Jamie mumbled through his tears.
Rip followed Beth out the door, wondering how she was feeling after all that. He wasn't expecting Christina to be pregnant. That had to have happened back during the thick of everything with the Beck brothers. Even though they still didn't know who was behind all three attacks, he was glad to know Jamie wouldn't be a problem anymore. He didn't like leaving any "problem" alive, and open to becoming more problematic in the future, but he had a feeling that wouldn't be the case here.
Beth sunk into the passenger seat of the truck, weighed down with mixed emotions. Rip drove them out of the parking lot and back onto the highway. He stayed silent, knowing she'd talk when she was ready. He looked over to see her staring out the window, her eyes were round and full of tears.
"Hey..." He reached for her hand, but she drew away from him and burst into tears. He pulled the truck over and put it in park. She still wouldn't look at him. "Beth look at me." She curled up in the seat and sobbed. He knew this had to be everything boiling over from the attacks, losing Kayce and finally getting closure for what Jamie did to her all those years ago. She had stayed strong for so long, through things that normally break people. Rip jumped out of the truck and jogged around to open the passenger door. He couldn't stand seeing her like this. He'd do anything to make her pain go away.
"Come here, honey." Rip reached out and this time she accepted, falling into his embrace. He stroked her hair and held her tight, thinking he should've expected this. Today was a lot, and it happened fast.
After a while, Beth pulled away and straightened herself up, wiping the tears away as she did so. "You know you're the only person who's ever seen me cry?"
"I believe that. You can cry to me all you want." He cupped her cheek and brushed a tear away with his thumb. It hit him then, that this kind of a day was nothing to him anymore. Aside from the fact that it involved Jamie instead of some enemy of the family this was a normal day for Rip. Beth had never seen any of this. She'd never been a part of it. He always made sure the Duttons couldn't be implicated if things ended badly. He got good at not leaving a trace. No matter how things looked, there was never any physical evidence to bring it back to them. "I'm sorry, Beth. I know everything happened really fast today, and you're not used to seeing me..." He couldn't think of the right words. "...like that. I'm sorry if I scared you. I hope you know of all the people I've hurt in my life... I would never hurt you." His eyes bore into hers and she saw all the love they held for her.
"I know that." She whispered, trying not to cry again, this time at least they would be happy tears. Normally, Beth felt weak for crying. When it happened it was always involuntary, caused by the sheer build up of emotions from so many different things that her mind just couldn't hold it all anymore. It had to come out. With Rip she felt safe, reassured, loved so unconditionally, just the way she felt for him.
"I have something for you." Rip blurted it out before he could change his mind. Beth saw something in his demeanor change. He seemed nervous, but what for? He reached around her and took something from the center console. He thought sure, maybe there could be a better time to do this, but if she could see him doing what it took to protect his family and still not be shaken, or scared... Then he saw this as the perfect time. When Beth glanced down and noticed that Rip was holding a small, black velvet box she gasped. Her blue eyes wide, and still full of tears, she looked back up at him. He chuckled nervously, and took her hands in his.
Rip chuckled nervously, staring down at their joined hands. "After a day like today, I feel like you deserve something that solidifies the future, and a reminder that I wanna be part of that future with you. It's not right for me to have a ring and you not…" He opened the box to reveal a yellow gold engagement ring with a petite diamond on top. Beth let out a small sob and covered her mouth. She wasn't expecting this at all. She closed her eyes, trying to keep the tears from flooding her cheeks again. She held her left hand out to him and he laughed. "Are you okay, darlin'?" He brushed some tear soaked hair off her face and put the ring on her finger. She shook her head yes before jumping into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck.
"I love you. I love you so much." She whispered to him as if it were some secret, peppering kisses across his face. Though she had many ways of showing her love for him, those three specific words didn't come out of her mouth too often. They weren't a very vocally affectionate couple. Their love languages were almost the same, being along the lines of physical touch and acts of service.
Rip sat her back down in the seat, and took her left hand again. He was trying to hide his own tears. There were only two things in his life that could bring tears to his eyes, and those were his mother, and his love for Beth. "This was my mom's ring. I thought about going out and buying you a fancy ring with a huge diamond, but I really wanted you to have this. It's like she can still have some small part in our lives. I just got it back from the jeweler. I had them clean it and size it for you."
Beth reached up, cupping either side of his face in her hands, tears still streaming down her cheeks. "It's beautiful, and perfect. I love it." She took his lips in a deep kiss, but broke away before things could get heated right there along the highway. Her eyes softened and she whispered, "Thank you for sharing this with me." She pressed her forehead to his and they stayed like that for a moment.
On the way home, Beth pushed the center console back, so she could ride in the middle, and be closer to Rip. She rested her head on his shoulder and his right hand played with the ring on her left as they followed the sunset home.
—
Monica sat in her car outside her new O.B.G.Y.N's office. The doctor she saw while pregnant with Tate had retired so she was forced to find a new one. It was 7:55 a.m., and her appointment was at 8. She was seeing a Dr. Evans, the only one available for her projected due date. She was praying things went okay and she liked this doctor since there seemed to be no other option. The last thing she needed was enduring a whole pregnancy worth of appointments with a doctor she hated.
After checking in at the front desk the receptionist handed her a cup to pee in, so she headed for the bathroom and did as she was told. By the time she washed her hands and opened the door a very kind nurse was waiting to take her blood pressure and weight. 'Okay so far so good' Monica thought to herself.
"Have a seat up there and Dr. Evans will be in shortly." The nurse smiled encouragingly at Monica. "You'll love her. She's very laid back and sweet." She assured, having sensed Monica's nervousness.
Monica sat alone on the exam table trying her best to muster up a positive attitude. Before too long there was a quiet knock at the door and in walked a tall, thin caramel haired woman who appeared to be in her late 30s.
"Hi, Monica! I'm Dr. Evans." She extended a hand to shake. "How have you been feeling lately?" She seemed to have a very calming presence and Monica immediately felt comfortable around her. She took a sigh of relief.
"Uh, well..." Monica chuckled and Dr. Evans took a seat on the round rolling chair next to her. She told the doctor everything was fine with the baby, but that wasn't her only question for the expectant mother. Dr. Evans questioned further about any past pregnancies, if there were any complications, any and all medical history, asked about her husband after seeing the ring on Monica's finger.
Monica answered everything honestly, even telling her about losing Kacey a few months ago. "I'm just trying really hard to focus on my son Tate, and this new baby. It's hard though, because Kasey would be so happy..."
"...and I bet he is happy. He's watching over you and Tate, and now this new baby, and I bet he's so proud of you." Dr. Evans did her best to reassure Monica, knowing there's no way she could make it through this pregnancy if she didn't have some kind of support system.
After all the usual measurements, and a blood draw Monica was led into an ultrasound room. The doctor left her with an ultrasound tech named Amy. She pulled her shirt up and rolled down the top of her pants, so Amy didn't have to ask her.
"Thank you!" Amy chirped before applying some gel to Monica's lower abdomen. "Looks like you've got just an itty bitty bump here." Her smile was kind and contagious. "Okay here we go, let's take a look at your baby." She swirled the wand around and it didn't take long until a little moving bean popped up on the screen. Monica knew exactly what to look for from her first pregnancy. "There's baby! Let's find his or her little heart beat." Amy zoomed in and did some clicking before the fast whooshing sound played out for them to hear. Monica couldn't help it at this point as tears started flowing. Amy handed her a tissue and Monica smiled in appreciation. The nurse did some more clicking and zooming in/out taking measurements and printing the occasional picture for Monica. "We're all done! Looks like you're measuring at about 11 weeks 3 days. I'm gonna have Dr. Evans look at these then you should be good to go!" Amy handed her some pictures and wiped the gel from Monica's belly.
After she was given the okay, Monica scheduled her next appointment and headed out the door. She was trying to think of a way to break the news to Tate, but her mind kept telling her "chocolate shake and fries". She laughed to herself as she remembered that being the one craving that stuck through her entire first pregnancy. So, she stopped by a little roadside diner and got herself a chocolate shake and some fries to go.
—
Thanks for reading! I feel like this one was a bit lengthy, but only Beth and Rip could turn such a heavy day into something positive! I hope we get to see Rip give Beth his mom's ring in season four. I also wanted to end on a happy note with Monica's first ob appointment.
Hope you all enjoyed it!