Chapter 8:

April 24, 1997

Oakdale, IL

Lakeview Hotel, 12:25 pm

"Roger," Holly said in shock as she saw her ex-husband sitting at the table, with his face having gone pale from seeing her, Ross and Blake.

"Daddy, there you are," Blake said as she ran over to her father and hugged him. "I was so worried about you. What were you thinking of running off like that?"

When she pulled back from the hug, she saw something she had never expected to see, nor Holly or Ross for that matter, as Roger looked up with tears watering up in his eyes and his breathing a half-sigh, half sob.

Holly was shocked, for she knew Roger better than anyone in Springfield. He could be emotionally vulnerable at times, but he tried covering his frustrations by showing his tough demeanor, which later caused him to act impulsively, such as the rape, him crashing the hero's welcome for Ed after Holly turned down Roger's marriage proposal at Cliff House, marrying Dinah, being a few examples, but never, never had she seen Roger so emotionally distressed in front of Ross and Blake like this.

She turned to Ross, whose mouth was wide open at seeing Roger like this, and saw that he too was speechless at Roger's fragile state.

"What are you doing here?" Roger said, his words becoming slurred from his condition and the shock of seeing Holly, Ross and Blake here in Oakdale not a full day after he left Springfield behind.

"We came to find you of course, Daddy," Blake cried, her eyes starting to become teary themselves. "Don't you know how worried Mom and I were when we found out you left?"

"How did you even know where to find me?" asked Roger.

Lisa spoke before any of the others did. "Bob said he was going to get in touch with them and let them know where you were after I spoke with him on the phone."

"Bob? That's the doctor who treated my father?" Blake asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Lisa nodded.

"He talked to Frank at Cedars," Blake spoke quickly.

"Frank?" Roger asked, his words slurring. "As in Frank Cooper? Buzz Cooper's son?" He threw his right hand down on the table in frustration. "Well tha's just great. Now the Coopers and the Springfield Police Department know about wha's going on with me."

Ross' eyes widened as he heard Roger's voice. He could clearly hear the difficulty Roger was emphasizing on some words whenever he spoke them. Come to think of it, Ross thought, Roger has been slurring his words for quite a while now, hasn't he? Then there was that appointment he scheduled here in Oakdale with the chief of staff at Memorial Hospital today. What could be the problem for Roger?

He just hoped that the doctors at Cedars could treat Roger, while Blake said, "They don't know, Dad. I told Frank not to tell anyone."

Roger and Holly looked to her in shock as Ross gaped at her.

"You didn't mention that," Holly said.

"I didn't think it worth mentioning," Blake shrugged.

"Didn't think it worth mentioning?" Ross repeated disbelievingly, walking into the room. "Why on earth would you do that, Blake? Don't you realize how much trouble you and Frank are going to get in by doing something like this?"

"Yes, I know, Ross," Blake sighed. "To be honest, I wasn't really thinking straight at the time."

"I'll say," Ross grumbled under his breath, but not quiet enough for Blake as she turned to him.

"I was thinking about finding my dad!" Blake snapped. "God knows, the whole town doesn't give a damn about him back in Springfield. Not that he's given them a reason to. If Frank had gone forward with his superiors with my dad's case, they would have either brought my dad on some trumped-up charges for fraud and embezzlement from the Spauldings, enough for everyone to find out and start making wild accusations. Either that or they would have had Frank drop the case."

Ross didn't say anything as he silently pondered on Blake's words. Roger could tell by the look on his face that Ross had come to the conclusion that Blake was right.

"But thank God, Frank went to Cedars just in time to get the call from the chief of staff here in Oakdale, because now no one is going to find out my dad was even gone in the first place or throw a big celebration over his leaving," Blake said.

Holly saw Roger's eyes watering up before he looked down. It surprised and hurt her seeing him like this. The Roger she knew, or more importantly the town knew, would get angry before showing up at the party, where he would plot the downfall of his enemies. This was not how she had expected to see Roger react. Whatever Roger's illness was, it was taking its toll on him. A heavy toll, Holly thought as Ross continued arguing with Blake.

"That's not the point, Blake," Ross chided. "The point is you can't keep holding out information like this from other people. It certainly hasn't done you any good in the past."

"Oh, that's great, Ross," Blake said. "Really that's just great. I don't know why you even bothered coming with us if you were going to throw my mistake in sleeping with Rick Bauer after I saw you kissing Amanda directly in front of my face."

"Blake," Ross said softly.

"Just forget it," Blake snapped. "If all you're going to do is bring up the past every once in a while, then you should leave."

"Blake, Ross didn't mean anything like that," Holly said, going to Roger and Blake.

"No, he meant every word," Blake said bitterly.

"Ross, would you mind waiting for us outside please?" Holly asked, turning to Ross, who sighed before nodding and walking back to the doorway.

"I'll be here if you need me," Ross said quietly to Blake, who turned away from him, looking to her father. He walked out and left, while Lisa went over and asked, "Is there anything I can get for you, folks?"

"No, thank you," Holly smiled at her while Blake shook her head. "We would like to be alone, if that's alright."

Lisa nodded, before looking to Roger who smiled, "I'll call you if they change their minds, Lisa. Thank you, though, for the beef sandwiches and the time to talk."

"Anytime, darling," Lisa smiled, which caused Holly's eyebrows to raise in surprise. She had never seen Roger so casually at ease with engaging a conversation with a female contemporary who he wasn't romantically pursuing, the only exception being the late Maureen Bauer, who was the only friend Roger had in Springfield. As she was about to leave with the cart, she stopped and turned back to Roger. "You really have such a beautiful family, Mr. Thorpe."

Holly looked to her in shock, while Roger was surprised to say the least. "Thank you," Roger said.

Lisa nodded her goodbyes to them as she closed the door behind her.

"Looks like you've got a new friend, Roger," Holly observed.

"She was simply there when I needed it," Roger replied.

Holly observed him for a while, as did Blake, who looked back up at Roger.

"Roger, what is going on with you?" Holly said. "What did the doctors tell you when you went to see them about your problem?"

"It's not bad, is it, Daddy?" Blake asked, looking with deep concern for Roger.

Roger sighed before he looked at both of them. His right hand grabbed Chrissy's and the other he held out for Holly, who took it.

"I promise to tell you when we get back to Springfield," Roger spoke softly, his words slurred.

"You promise?" Blake asked.

Roger nodded. "I promise."

He looked to Holly, who gave him a concerned look, but his eyes told hers not to worry about it... yet.

April 24, 1997

Oakdale, IL

Lakeview Hotel, 12:30 pm

Ross arrived at the lobby as he exited the elevator and sighed, still reeling from the fight he had had with Blake and the shock of having seen Roger in that state. Ross headed to the receptionist's desk, which was empty at the moment, and grabbed the phone and dialed Matt Reardon's house to see if there were any missed calls from Dinah or Amanda.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Matt, it's me."

"Oh, hey Ross. What's up?"

"Not much," Ross said. "Is Dinah around at your place, by any chance? I need to speak with her."

"Uh, yeah, she's here, but I'm afraid that she's a little busy at the moment."

Ross sensed an uncomfortability in Matt's tone when he said that.

"How busy?" Ross asked. He could only imagine the source of Matt's uneasiness.

"Indisposed," Matt said hesitantly.

"Matt," Ross ground out.

"Alright, she's in the storage shed with Hart," Matt said.

"She's what?!?"

"Look, Ross, it's not what you think," Matt said hurriedly.

"Well, you better explain to me then, Matt," Ross hissed. "Because I don't see what business my daughter has with Hart Jessup in your storage shed."

"I had no choice, Ross. Both of them were fighting like cats and dogs when we were going over the planning for the activity room in Cedars, with me doing most of the planning. I tried leaving them alone in the house to make up, but they quickly got back to fighting again over Bridget taking Peter to Minnesota for a week to visit Dylan, so I locked them in the storage shed until the kids learned to behave."

"Yeah well, I bet they're behaving well with each other, aren't they?" Ross sniped.

"Ross, I only meant well in their case," Matt defended.

"Just get them out of there, will you?" Ross shouted. "And the next time you even think about locking anyone in the storage shed, consult with someone else about your plan before going through with it!"

Ross slammed the phone down on the receiver in frustration.

"Try to go easy on the phone, dear." Ross turned as the Southern accent spoke and saw the same woman who was in Roger's room just now, arrive behind the desk. "You keep beating on the poor thing, and eventually I'll have to order in a new one."

"I'm sorry," Ross sighed. "It's just been a long day so far."

"I can imagine," Lisa said. "Roger certainly feels the same."

Ross narrowed his eyes at her. "Roger has confided in you a lot, hasn't he?"

"Yes, he has," Lisa nodded. "And not just the state of his condition, which by the way I still know nothing about. My ex-husband Bob does. He's the one who checked Roger out, after I convinced him to make an appointment. But Roger and I talked. He's told me everything he's done back in Springfield, all the mistakes he's ever made."

She caught Ross staring at her in silence. "You seem surprised."

"I didn't think Roger would feel so comfortable with revealing his full past to anyone without--" Ross trailed off.

"Without them passing judgment on him?" Lisa observed, causing Ross to nod. "I am no saint either, dear. I've made mistakes just like Roger."

Ross looked at her doubtfully.

"Oh, I may not have made all the mistakes Roger has, but I have lied and schemed just like Roger has, and in a way his story reminds me of my own. His and Holly's."

"In what way?" Ross inquired curiously.

"We both lost the people we loved, due to our blind faults," Lisa said wistfully.

At that, Ross didn't say anything.

Springfield, IL

Matt Reardon's House, same time

Matt Reardon quickly ran over to the storage shed and unlocked it with the key he had. When he entered, he saw a shirtless Hart and Dinah in a state of undress as they were in the midst of passionately making out to the song "Since I Fell For You" by Lenny Welch playing in the background from a record player on the ground. Both of them were unaware that Matt was standing there until he cleared his throat.

Hart looked up in surprise while Dinah screamed, covering her chest, not that she needed to, considering the fact that she had on a white vest on.

"Matt, what the hell?" Hart yelled.

"I hate to end your timeout session, kids, but I'm afraid your father's calling, Dinah," said Matt, who looked unphased at seeing them in their state of undress. Hart was merely shirtless while Dinah had removed her light blue jacket, which she was scrambling to put on.

"Well, couldn't you have at least knocked before letting us know that?" Dinah retorted, as she was finally dressed.

"You're right, I'm sorry," Matt said, raising his hands up in surrender. "It won't happen again."

"You're damn right it won't," Dinah muttered, as she looked to Hart, who had quickly put his shirt on, longingly before walking past Matt as they left the storage shed and closed the door on their way out.

"Look, I'm really sorry, Dinah," Matt said as he followed her to the house. "It's just, your father called very unexpectedly. He seemed anxious to speak with you."

"Did he say what it was about?" Dinah asked.

"No, all I know is he wants to speak with you."

"I wonder what he wants," Dinah said as she, Matt and Hart arrived inside the house as the phone rang. She quickly went over and grabbed it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Dinah?"

"Daddy? Matt said you wanted to speak with me."

"I did. Is Hart there with you now?"

"Why yes, he is," Dinah said, turning to Hart, who looked confused.

"Good, I need to speak to both of you as soon as we get back to Springfield."

"Daddy, where are you?" Dinah asked. "And who's we?"

"I'll be upstairs if you need me," Matt whispered as he left them and climbed the stairs.

"Daddy, is something wrong?" Dinah asked.

"I can't say for sure over the phone, sweetie," Ross said. "All I can tell you is that I am in Oakdale right now with Roger, Holly, and Blake."

"What are you doing over there with them?" Dinah asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Dinah, what is it?" Hart asked, coming behind her.

Dinah shook her head at Hart, meaning she didn't know what was going on right now.

"Don't tell Hart, but Roger left Springfield last night without letting anyone know what he was doing."

"Why would he do that?" Dinah asked, this situation becoming even more confusing by the minute. "What did he do now?"

"Nothing, sweetheart. Roger isn't in trouble with the law or anything like that, thank God. Although I can't say for his health."

"What do you mean?" Dinah asked, looking at Hart with concern.

"Roger left town because he didn't want Holly, Blake or Hart to know that something is wrong with his health. He has been having problems with his speech for quite some time now, and he scheduled an appointment here with the chief of staff at Oakdale Memorial this morning. We don't know yet what Roger has, I imagine Holly and Blake are trying to get to the bottom of it, but whatever it is, it's not good. Roger looked like he wanted to break down in tears when he saw us at his hotel room. From what I can gather, it's from whatever the doctors told him at Oakdale Memorial."

Dinah took a step back, completely perplexed. This was most rather, completely unexpected. During her time being married to Roger and gaslighting him with Hart's help, she never took Roger as the type of man to break down in tears. Far from it, he was the type of man to not let any weakness or vulnerability show outwardly.

Now she finds out that not only had he left town last night, but her father, along with Blake and Holly, had miraculously found him in Oakdale at a hotel room, on the verge of tears, due to a health issue he had with his voice. Dinah's gut told her something wasn't right.

"Dinah, are you still there?"

"I'm here, Daddy," Dinah said, looking to Hart quickly before turning away.

"Look, I'll call you as soon as we get back in town," Ross said. "But you have to promise me you can't tell Hart about this, not until we can find out what's wrong with Roger."

"I will," Dinah said. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Dinah," Ross said before he hung up the phone.

"Dinah, what's going on?" Hart asked.

Dinah looked to Hart before she said, "I honestly don't know, Hart."

She quickly hugged him, while Hart was taken aback before he soothed her hair.

"What did your dad tell you?"

"He said he was going to tell us later when we saw him," Dinah said softly. "We should get back with Matt."

Hart stood there, silently pondering as Dinah called out at Matt and said they were ready to continue on with the plans for the activity room.