Learning to Live Again: 7/?
by Emilie Eden
Disclaimer: The usual -- see part one.
Notes: Sorry for the delay. Writer's block...'nuff said. Sorry about any mistakes I made.
----------
"Hank, we gotta talk, man." Tyler announced as he walked into Hank's apartment. "Heather is driving me nuts and Val is back and..." He trailed off when he saw that Hank had company. He then saw it was Melanie and, noting their state of partial undress, realized he must have interrupted something. "Hi Melanie."
"Hi Tyler," Melanie replied, trying to to laugh at the situation.
Tyler rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. "Did I come at a bad time?"
"Yes!" Hank exclaimed, nodding his head furiously.
"Oh..."
Hank stared at Tyler for a few minutes, waiting for him to leave. When he realized Tyler wasn't going anywhere, he groaned. "Isn't this where you politely excuse yourself and leave?"
"No." Tyler gave Hank a funny look. "I told you we need to talk."
Hank muttered something under his breath, in which Melanie responded to by playfully slapping his arm. "Can it wait, Tyler?"
"But Hank..." Tyler protested in a whiny voice. "Fine."
"Great!" Hank grinned. "We'll talk later."
"I know," Tyler agreed, walking out of the door. "Ten minutes should give you two enough time to get dressed. We'll talk then."
----------
Val rang the doorbell, rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm herself as she did. When the door finally opened, she managed to smile. "Hi Mom..."
"Val?" Joanna whispered in disbelief, before pulling her daughter into a fierce hug. "It's been so long! Why haven't you called?" She pulled away and looked at Val again, before hugging her once more. "Come in honey, you must be freezing."
Val nodded and followed her mother inside the house. "I came by last night...or the night before...I'm not sure." Val sat down on the couch and pulled her knees up to her chest. "No one was here...and then I just..."
Joanna sat beside Val, trying to comfort her daughter the best she could. "I'm sorry, honey, I was out of town. I decided to visit Faye and the kids..." She frowned as she looked at Val. "Where did you stay? Oh, wait, your father's, right?"
Val detected the bitterness in her mother's voice and pulled away. "No, I haven't seen Daddy yet. I...well, Tyler found me here and I stayed with him that day...and then I went to Caitie's and stayed with her."
"So you came to see me first," Joanna realized, smiling brightly.
"Mom, it's not like that," Val sighed. "Why do you and Dad have to be like this?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, honey. Your father and I have hardly spoken since..." Joanna trailed off.
"Yeah, I know." Val stood up and stared down at Joanna. "Why do you think that even happened? You know, I've been blaming myself for so long but you and Dad...you had so much to do with that! All you do is blame each other and I'm tired of it, Mom. I'm tired."
Joanna stood and embraced Val again, kissing the top of her head. "It's not your fault, Val. Brooke was just...I don't know. It's no one's fault." She blinked back the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Your father and I have problems, I know."
Val sniffed. "At least you admit it." She pulled away from Joanna and walked across the room. Her eyes landed on a family photo and she picked it up, lightly tracing over it. She recognized it to be from her high school graduation. They had been happy then, the four of them.
"That was a good day," Joanna commented, walking up behind Val.
"Yeah, it was," Val agreed. "Mom, can you do something for me?"
Joanna looked at Val curiously. "Anything, honey."
"Do you think we could go out for breakfast?" Val asked, looking down at the picture again. "The three of us?" Val glanced back at her mom. "I really need both of you right now."
Joanna reached over and stroked Val's hair, before nodding. "I'll call your father."
----------
"Daddy!" Lexi tugged on Jamie's pants leg. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!"
Jamie looked down at his daughter, from where he was standing in front of the stove. "Daddy is trying to cook, baby. Why don't you sit down, ok?" He glanced briefly at the pancakes he was cooking, before sweeping Lexi in his arms and hurrying over to her high chair.
Lexi looked up at Jamie. "Cookie?"
"Mommy would hurt Daddy if I let you have a cookie," Jamie replied, strapping her into the high chair.
"Cookie?" Lexi repeated again, sticking out her lower lip.
Jamie sighed in defeat as he went to retrieve a cookie. He brought it back to her and crouched down, so that he was eye to eye with her. "Mommy doesn't find out, ok?"
"Okie." Lexi took the cookie from him and began to nibble on it.
Jamie gently stroked Lexi's hair, losing himself in his thoughts. It still amazed him that he had helped create such a beautiful, perfect little person.
"STINKY!"
Jamie shook his head, coming back to reality. "What was that, baby?"
"Stinky!" Lexi repeated, covering her nose with her little hand.
Jamie's eyes grew wide as he realized his pancakes were burning. He ran over to the stove and quickly turned it off, removing the pan from the eye. He looked down and sighed. The heart shaped pancakes were crispy and black. For a moment, he could identify with the pancakes, as crazy as that sounded, wondering if inside his heart was also black and crispy.
Jamie rolled his eyes, disgusted with both himself and the pancakes, as he dumped them into the trash can. He started making another batch, this time carefully watching them as they cooked, while keeping an eye on Lexi. After the pancakes finished cooking, he put them on a plate and carried them to Lexi.
"Here you go, baby," Jamie said, sitting down beside Lexi. "Heart pancakes."
Lexi looked at the pancakes, then back up at Jamie. "No heart."
Jamie frowned and looked back down at the pancakes. "No, Lexi, see? Hearts." He pointed to the pancakes.
"No heart," Lexi said again, shaking her head. "Mommy do hearts."
Jamie sighed. "I know. Mommy makes better heart pancakes than Daddy, but Mommy is a girl. Daddy is a boy. Daddy isn't good at this hearts thing."
Lexi pouted at her father. "Heart pweese?"
Jamie stared at the plate for a moment, before standing up and crossing the kitchen. He searched around for a minute, before finding what he was looking for. "Aha!" Jamie exclaimed, sitting back down with Lexi. He took the heart shaped cookie cutter and cut hearts out of Lexi's pancakes. "How's that?"
"Hearts!" Lexi squealed with delight, clapping her hands.
Jamie leaned back in his chair, a smug look on his face. "Daddy can make hearts after all."
----------
Caitie let out a sigh of frustration as she drove around Kingsport. "Where is she?" She asked herself aloud, trying to keep her eyes on the road while attempting to spot Val. "C'mon, Val, I know you're around here somewhere."
She continued driving and soon realized she was nearing the cemetary. Glancing at the clock, she figured he would be there. He was always there. Caitie wasn't a therapist, but she knew all about guily and complexes.
Caitie reached the cemetary and parked beside a jeep. She had been right, he was there. She shut off the engine and grabbed her purse, checking to make sure she had her cell phone, in case Jamie tried to reach her. Then she climbed out of the car and walked over to where she knew she would find him.
He was standing in front of the gravesite, his hands shoved into his pockets, staring at the headstone.
Caitie sighed and went over to him. "I figured you would be here."
"Where else would I be?" He returned, glancing over at her, then back at the tombstone.
"I haven't been here in a long time," Caitie said softly. "You're a lot stronger than I am."
"I'm not," he replied, shaking his head. "Trust me, I'm not. Sometimes I wonder if maybe I'm more messed up now than I was back then. At least...at least then, I had her. But we were stupid and misguided and...why the hell did we do it, anyway? If only I had known then what I know now."
"Nick..." Caitie put her hand on his arm. "It's not --"
"It's not my fault? I know." Nick lifted his head and stared off into the sunrise. "My therapist tells me that. Twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday at four. Routine."
Caitied nodded her head. "I know."
"It's not fair, you know? I lived and she died," he bit out. "What the hell kind of logic is that? My God, she had a lot more to live for than I did." Nick pushed up his sleeves and looked at his arms. "I tried to forget, believe me, I tried. I can't forget, though. The scars won't let me forget...and she won't let me forget, either." He looked over at Caitie. "At least you've moved on."
"On the outside, yeah, maybe," Caitie agreed. "But on the inside? I haven't. I'm just like you, Nick. We all are."
----------
"No, Hank, you don't understand. My life has gone mad," Tyler insisted. Melanie had left an hour ago and Tyler had been complaining to Hank since then. "First there is Heather and she's like, bipolar or something. One minute she's semi-normal and the next minute she turns into some kind of...of thing."
Hank nodded his head. "Yeah, I see she has rubbed off on you," he said, grinning widely.
"What? She has not!" Tyler glared at Hank, before continuing. "Then there's Val. I told you Val was back in town, right?"
"Only a few million times," Hank informed him.
"Right. So I find here there in her mom's yard, looking like hell and then...I don't know. I guess then my life went to hell, too." Tyler rubbed at the back of his neck with his hand. "Sometimes it's like high school again and then everything gets so mixed up and..." Tyler trailed off.
"And you wonder who's life you're living?" Hank suggested.
Tyler nodded his head. "Exactly."
"You're not the only one that feels that way. I think all of us do." Hank shook his head. "Back in high school, everything was so easy, compared to now. Life hasn't turned out anything like I had planned."
"Tell me about it," Tyler snorted. "I mean, I was so sure that Val and I would end up together. We'd both be doctors and would have a practice together, or something like that. We'd have a couple of kids, a nice house..." He sighed. "Look at me now."
"Let's see. Engaged to Heather Stillmore, pediatrician, no kids, nice apartment..." Hank gave Tyler a look. "You came close. Let me be the first to say that high school sweethearts don't always work out. Me and Jas? Trainwreck." Hank shrugged his shoulders. "Consider yourself lucky. You didn't have to go through that with Val."
"Yeah...yeah, you're right," Tyler sighed. "I haven't had it half as hard as most of you. I'm selfish, aren't I?"
Hank nodded his head. "Oh, yeah."
"You could have lied, you know..."
Hank smirked. "Yeah, but what's the fun in that?"
----------
Jamie glanced up from his spot on the couch when he heard the door opening. "Cait?"
"Yeah, I'm back," Caitie called. She closed the door behind her and hung up her coat, before walking into the living room. "What time is it?" She asked, noticing the trash from what looked like Jamie's lunch sitting on the coffee table.
Jamie glanced at his watch. "11:16."
Caitie sat down beside him. "I didn't realize I was gone for so long." She glanced around the room and frowned. "Where's Lexi?"
"Napping," Jamie replied, grabbing the remote and turning off the tv. "Did you find Val?"
"No," Caitie shook her head. "I assume that means you didn't hear anything either."
"You assume correctly," he replied. "I did hear an interesting story from Heather, but that can wait."
"Good."
Jamie looked at Caitie. "Well?"
"Well what?" She returned, raising her eyebrow.
"Where have you been?"
"Oh..." Caitie stood and walked into the kitchen, where she began fixing herself lunch. "I drove around for a while."
Jamie followed her into the kitchen and sat down. "For almost five hours?"
"No, not exactly." Caitie put her food down and glanced over at him. "I stopped by the, um, cemetary..." She saw the look on his face and nodded. "Yeah, that's the one." She began concentrating on fixing her lunch again. "Nick was there and we talked for a while...then we left and we to have coffee."
"Oh, really?" Jamie leaned in, looking interested. "I'm intrigued. Tell me more."
Caitie rolled her eyes. "There's nothing to tell, Jamie. It was coffee, not a date." She shook her head. "That's like, so not possible, anyway. I can't believe you would even think that."
Jamie laughed. "Why are you so defensive?"
"It's my job!" Caitie exclaimed, before freezing. "Oh, no."
"What?"
"I was supposed to be at the office hours ago." Caitie groaned as she ran over to the phone.
"Take a day off," Jamie suggested.
Caitie looked at him, exasperated, as she began dialing her work number. "I can't just take off. I said I would be there. I have clients and cases and --"
Jamie took the phone away from her. "And a daughter who hardly gets to see you," he finished for her. "Look, you've already missed half the day, right? What are you going to get done in a couple of hours that you can't do tomorrow?"
Caitie opened her mouth to protest, but Jamie shook his head.
"Just stay here and relax, ok? Spend some time with our daughter, catch up with your friends, bake cookies, whatever. You need the time off."
After a minute, Caitie sighed and grabbed the phone from Jamie. "You should have been the lawyer, not me," she muttered, dialing the number. "Beth? This is Caitlin. I'll be taking the day off..."
----------
Val glanced back and forth at her parents, pleasantly surprised that there hadn't been any arguements. Things were going well, until...
"Val, honey," Joanna began, placing her fork down on her plate. "Your father and I were talking earlier and..."
"And?" Val prompted.
Her father continued. "And, well, have you considered getting some...professional help?"
Val's glass hit the floor, causing her parents to wince. She ignored both. "Excuse me? Professional help?" Her jaw dropped. "What on earth for?!"
"Well, we know you've had problems dealing with what happened to Brooke." Joanna sighed. "We think it would be best for you."
"I don't need any help!" Val exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. "Why would you think I need to see a shrink? If anyone does, it would be you two! You're the ones with the problems, not me."
"Valerie!"
"No, I'm sorry, but it's the truth." Val stalked out of the dining room and made her way towards the front door.
Joanna glanced at her ex-husband, before following Val. "Honey, we didn't mean to upset you."
Val spun around to face Joanna. "I am an adult, mother. I can make my own choices, ok? Is that alright with you?" She asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "I don't why I even try to make us a normal family because, apparently, I'm just wasting my time!"
"I made you an appointment Monday at four o'clock," Joanna sighed.
Val let out an irritated scream and left the house, slamming the door behind her.
----------
"Do you remember what time my mom said she would pick up Lexi?" Caitie asked Jamie from the kitchen, where she was fixing snacks.
"In about fifteen minutes, why?"
"Just checking," Caitie replied. She glanced into the living room and laughed as she saw Jamie trying to fix Lexi's hair.
"Baby, I can't do your hair if you keep looking at the tv," Jamie informed her with a sigh. "Cait?"
Caitie walked into the living room and took the brush from Jamie. "Allow me." She lead Lexi over to the television and sat her down in front of it. Caitie took a seat behind Lexi and began pulling her hair up into pigtails.
"That's cheating!" Jamie exclaimed.
"Is not."
Jamie rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen. He washed his hands and picked up where Caitie had left off. "So, no word on Val?"
"Nope," Caitie shook her head. "I thought about calling the cops or something but I guess that would be kind of drastic. Plus, she hasn't been missing long enough."
"Val can take care of herself," Jamie reminded her.
Caitie nodded. "I know."
Jamie decided to change the subject. "Who all is coming?"
"Just the usual," Caitie replied, shooting a glance at Jamie. "Hank, Melanie, Tyler..."
"Heather?"
"Let's hope not." Caitie stood up when she heard the doorbell ringing. "Answer the door, please?" She asked, while trying to help Lexi into her coat.
Jamie walked over and unlocked the door, revealing Caitie's mother. "Hello, Mrs. Roth," he greeted her politely, holding the door open. "Thank you for letting Lexi stay with you this afternoon."
"Nonsense," Elizabeth Roth replied, walking into the house. "I love spending time with my granddaughter." She glanced back at Jamie. "And, please, call me Elizabeth."
"Right, Elizabeth," Jamie corrected himself. "Cait and Lexi are in the living room."
Caitie glanced up when she saw Jamie and her mother enter the room. "Hi Mom." She finished dressing Lexi and lead her across the room. "Say 'hi' to Grandma."
"Hi Gram." Lexi gave Elizabeth a toothy smile.
Jamie cleared his throat. "I'll just go put her things in your car, Mrs...er, Elizabeth."
"Thanks, Jamie." Caitie smiled and watched him leave the house.
Elizabeth hugged her daughter. "You look good, Caitie. How is work treating you? Does James live here?"
"Mother!" Caitie shook her head. "How subtle of you." She let out a sigh as she reached down to pick up Lexi. "Thank you, fine, kind of."
"What do you mean, 'kind of'?" Elizabeth asked curiously.
Caitie rolled her eyes. "He has his own apartment, but he likes to spend time with Lexi. He stays with her while I'm at work." She gave her mother a pointed look. "You know the situation, Mom. I don't see why you have to ask every time you stop by."
"Oh, alright," Elizabeth gave in. "I won't ask any more."
"Thank you," Caitie smiled. "I'll walk you to your car." As they walked outside, Caitie looked at her daughter. "Be good for Grandma, ok?"
"Okie," Lexi nodded her head.
Caitie pressed a kiss to Lexi's forehead and passed her to Jamie. He strapped her into the car and he, too, gave her a kiss.
"I love you, baby." Jamie said, before closing the door. They said goodbye to Elizabeth and waited until she had left the driveway, before going back inside.
by Emilie Eden
Disclaimer: The usual -- see part one.
Notes: Sorry for the delay. Writer's block...'nuff said. Sorry about any mistakes I made.
----------
"Hank, we gotta talk, man." Tyler announced as he walked into Hank's apartment. "Heather is driving me nuts and Val is back and..." He trailed off when he saw that Hank had company. He then saw it was Melanie and, noting their state of partial undress, realized he must have interrupted something. "Hi Melanie."
"Hi Tyler," Melanie replied, trying to to laugh at the situation.
Tyler rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. "Did I come at a bad time?"
"Yes!" Hank exclaimed, nodding his head furiously.
"Oh..."
Hank stared at Tyler for a few minutes, waiting for him to leave. When he realized Tyler wasn't going anywhere, he groaned. "Isn't this where you politely excuse yourself and leave?"
"No." Tyler gave Hank a funny look. "I told you we need to talk."
Hank muttered something under his breath, in which Melanie responded to by playfully slapping his arm. "Can it wait, Tyler?"
"But Hank..." Tyler protested in a whiny voice. "Fine."
"Great!" Hank grinned. "We'll talk later."
"I know," Tyler agreed, walking out of the door. "Ten minutes should give you two enough time to get dressed. We'll talk then."
----------
Val rang the doorbell, rubbing her arms in an attempt to warm herself as she did. When the door finally opened, she managed to smile. "Hi Mom..."
"Val?" Joanna whispered in disbelief, before pulling her daughter into a fierce hug. "It's been so long! Why haven't you called?" She pulled away and looked at Val again, before hugging her once more. "Come in honey, you must be freezing."
Val nodded and followed her mother inside the house. "I came by last night...or the night before...I'm not sure." Val sat down on the couch and pulled her knees up to her chest. "No one was here...and then I just..."
Joanna sat beside Val, trying to comfort her daughter the best she could. "I'm sorry, honey, I was out of town. I decided to visit Faye and the kids..." She frowned as she looked at Val. "Where did you stay? Oh, wait, your father's, right?"
Val detected the bitterness in her mother's voice and pulled away. "No, I haven't seen Daddy yet. I...well, Tyler found me here and I stayed with him that day...and then I went to Caitie's and stayed with her."
"So you came to see me first," Joanna realized, smiling brightly.
"Mom, it's not like that," Val sighed. "Why do you and Dad have to be like this?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, honey. Your father and I have hardly spoken since..." Joanna trailed off.
"Yeah, I know." Val stood up and stared down at Joanna. "Why do you think that even happened? You know, I've been blaming myself for so long but you and Dad...you had so much to do with that! All you do is blame each other and I'm tired of it, Mom. I'm tired."
Joanna stood and embraced Val again, kissing the top of her head. "It's not your fault, Val. Brooke was just...I don't know. It's no one's fault." She blinked back the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Your father and I have problems, I know."
Val sniffed. "At least you admit it." She pulled away from Joanna and walked across the room. Her eyes landed on a family photo and she picked it up, lightly tracing over it. She recognized it to be from her high school graduation. They had been happy then, the four of them.
"That was a good day," Joanna commented, walking up behind Val.
"Yeah, it was," Val agreed. "Mom, can you do something for me?"
Joanna looked at Val curiously. "Anything, honey."
"Do you think we could go out for breakfast?" Val asked, looking down at the picture again. "The three of us?" Val glanced back at her mom. "I really need both of you right now."
Joanna reached over and stroked Val's hair, before nodding. "I'll call your father."
----------
"Daddy!" Lexi tugged on Jamie's pants leg. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!"
Jamie looked down at his daughter, from where he was standing in front of the stove. "Daddy is trying to cook, baby. Why don't you sit down, ok?" He glanced briefly at the pancakes he was cooking, before sweeping Lexi in his arms and hurrying over to her high chair.
Lexi looked up at Jamie. "Cookie?"
"Mommy would hurt Daddy if I let you have a cookie," Jamie replied, strapping her into the high chair.
"Cookie?" Lexi repeated again, sticking out her lower lip.
Jamie sighed in defeat as he went to retrieve a cookie. He brought it back to her and crouched down, so that he was eye to eye with her. "Mommy doesn't find out, ok?"
"Okie." Lexi took the cookie from him and began to nibble on it.
Jamie gently stroked Lexi's hair, losing himself in his thoughts. It still amazed him that he had helped create such a beautiful, perfect little person.
"STINKY!"
Jamie shook his head, coming back to reality. "What was that, baby?"
"Stinky!" Lexi repeated, covering her nose with her little hand.
Jamie's eyes grew wide as he realized his pancakes were burning. He ran over to the stove and quickly turned it off, removing the pan from the eye. He looked down and sighed. The heart shaped pancakes were crispy and black. For a moment, he could identify with the pancakes, as crazy as that sounded, wondering if inside his heart was also black and crispy.
Jamie rolled his eyes, disgusted with both himself and the pancakes, as he dumped them into the trash can. He started making another batch, this time carefully watching them as they cooked, while keeping an eye on Lexi. After the pancakes finished cooking, he put them on a plate and carried them to Lexi.
"Here you go, baby," Jamie said, sitting down beside Lexi. "Heart pancakes."
Lexi looked at the pancakes, then back up at Jamie. "No heart."
Jamie frowned and looked back down at the pancakes. "No, Lexi, see? Hearts." He pointed to the pancakes.
"No heart," Lexi said again, shaking her head. "Mommy do hearts."
Jamie sighed. "I know. Mommy makes better heart pancakes than Daddy, but Mommy is a girl. Daddy is a boy. Daddy isn't good at this hearts thing."
Lexi pouted at her father. "Heart pweese?"
Jamie stared at the plate for a moment, before standing up and crossing the kitchen. He searched around for a minute, before finding what he was looking for. "Aha!" Jamie exclaimed, sitting back down with Lexi. He took the heart shaped cookie cutter and cut hearts out of Lexi's pancakes. "How's that?"
"Hearts!" Lexi squealed with delight, clapping her hands.
Jamie leaned back in his chair, a smug look on his face. "Daddy can make hearts after all."
----------
Caitie let out a sigh of frustration as she drove around Kingsport. "Where is she?" She asked herself aloud, trying to keep her eyes on the road while attempting to spot Val. "C'mon, Val, I know you're around here somewhere."
She continued driving and soon realized she was nearing the cemetary. Glancing at the clock, she figured he would be there. He was always there. Caitie wasn't a therapist, but she knew all about guily and complexes.
Caitie reached the cemetary and parked beside a jeep. She had been right, he was there. She shut off the engine and grabbed her purse, checking to make sure she had her cell phone, in case Jamie tried to reach her. Then she climbed out of the car and walked over to where she knew she would find him.
He was standing in front of the gravesite, his hands shoved into his pockets, staring at the headstone.
Caitie sighed and went over to him. "I figured you would be here."
"Where else would I be?" He returned, glancing over at her, then back at the tombstone.
"I haven't been here in a long time," Caitie said softly. "You're a lot stronger than I am."
"I'm not," he replied, shaking his head. "Trust me, I'm not. Sometimes I wonder if maybe I'm more messed up now than I was back then. At least...at least then, I had her. But we were stupid and misguided and...why the hell did we do it, anyway? If only I had known then what I know now."
"Nick..." Caitie put her hand on his arm. "It's not --"
"It's not my fault? I know." Nick lifted his head and stared off into the sunrise. "My therapist tells me that. Twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday at four. Routine."
Caitied nodded her head. "I know."
"It's not fair, you know? I lived and she died," he bit out. "What the hell kind of logic is that? My God, she had a lot more to live for than I did." Nick pushed up his sleeves and looked at his arms. "I tried to forget, believe me, I tried. I can't forget, though. The scars won't let me forget...and she won't let me forget, either." He looked over at Caitie. "At least you've moved on."
"On the outside, yeah, maybe," Caitie agreed. "But on the inside? I haven't. I'm just like you, Nick. We all are."
----------
"No, Hank, you don't understand. My life has gone mad," Tyler insisted. Melanie had left an hour ago and Tyler had been complaining to Hank since then. "First there is Heather and she's like, bipolar or something. One minute she's semi-normal and the next minute she turns into some kind of...of thing."
Hank nodded his head. "Yeah, I see she has rubbed off on you," he said, grinning widely.
"What? She has not!" Tyler glared at Hank, before continuing. "Then there's Val. I told you Val was back in town, right?"
"Only a few million times," Hank informed him.
"Right. So I find here there in her mom's yard, looking like hell and then...I don't know. I guess then my life went to hell, too." Tyler rubbed at the back of his neck with his hand. "Sometimes it's like high school again and then everything gets so mixed up and..." Tyler trailed off.
"And you wonder who's life you're living?" Hank suggested.
Tyler nodded his head. "Exactly."
"You're not the only one that feels that way. I think all of us do." Hank shook his head. "Back in high school, everything was so easy, compared to now. Life hasn't turned out anything like I had planned."
"Tell me about it," Tyler snorted. "I mean, I was so sure that Val and I would end up together. We'd both be doctors and would have a practice together, or something like that. We'd have a couple of kids, a nice house..." He sighed. "Look at me now."
"Let's see. Engaged to Heather Stillmore, pediatrician, no kids, nice apartment..." Hank gave Tyler a look. "You came close. Let me be the first to say that high school sweethearts don't always work out. Me and Jas? Trainwreck." Hank shrugged his shoulders. "Consider yourself lucky. You didn't have to go through that with Val."
"Yeah...yeah, you're right," Tyler sighed. "I haven't had it half as hard as most of you. I'm selfish, aren't I?"
Hank nodded his head. "Oh, yeah."
"You could have lied, you know..."
Hank smirked. "Yeah, but what's the fun in that?"
----------
Jamie glanced up from his spot on the couch when he heard the door opening. "Cait?"
"Yeah, I'm back," Caitie called. She closed the door behind her and hung up her coat, before walking into the living room. "What time is it?" She asked, noticing the trash from what looked like Jamie's lunch sitting on the coffee table.
Jamie glanced at his watch. "11:16."
Caitie sat down beside him. "I didn't realize I was gone for so long." She glanced around the room and frowned. "Where's Lexi?"
"Napping," Jamie replied, grabbing the remote and turning off the tv. "Did you find Val?"
"No," Caitie shook her head. "I assume that means you didn't hear anything either."
"You assume correctly," he replied. "I did hear an interesting story from Heather, but that can wait."
"Good."
Jamie looked at Caitie. "Well?"
"Well what?" She returned, raising her eyebrow.
"Where have you been?"
"Oh..." Caitie stood and walked into the kitchen, where she began fixing herself lunch. "I drove around for a while."
Jamie followed her into the kitchen and sat down. "For almost five hours?"
"No, not exactly." Caitie put her food down and glanced over at him. "I stopped by the, um, cemetary..." She saw the look on his face and nodded. "Yeah, that's the one." She began concentrating on fixing her lunch again. "Nick was there and we talked for a while...then we left and we to have coffee."
"Oh, really?" Jamie leaned in, looking interested. "I'm intrigued. Tell me more."
Caitie rolled her eyes. "There's nothing to tell, Jamie. It was coffee, not a date." She shook her head. "That's like, so not possible, anyway. I can't believe you would even think that."
Jamie laughed. "Why are you so defensive?"
"It's my job!" Caitie exclaimed, before freezing. "Oh, no."
"What?"
"I was supposed to be at the office hours ago." Caitie groaned as she ran over to the phone.
"Take a day off," Jamie suggested.
Caitie looked at him, exasperated, as she began dialing her work number. "I can't just take off. I said I would be there. I have clients and cases and --"
Jamie took the phone away from her. "And a daughter who hardly gets to see you," he finished for her. "Look, you've already missed half the day, right? What are you going to get done in a couple of hours that you can't do tomorrow?"
Caitie opened her mouth to protest, but Jamie shook his head.
"Just stay here and relax, ok? Spend some time with our daughter, catch up with your friends, bake cookies, whatever. You need the time off."
After a minute, Caitie sighed and grabbed the phone from Jamie. "You should have been the lawyer, not me," she muttered, dialing the number. "Beth? This is Caitlin. I'll be taking the day off..."
----------
Val glanced back and forth at her parents, pleasantly surprised that there hadn't been any arguements. Things were going well, until...
"Val, honey," Joanna began, placing her fork down on her plate. "Your father and I were talking earlier and..."
"And?" Val prompted.
Her father continued. "And, well, have you considered getting some...professional help?"
Val's glass hit the floor, causing her parents to wince. She ignored both. "Excuse me? Professional help?" Her jaw dropped. "What on earth for?!"
"Well, we know you've had problems dealing with what happened to Brooke." Joanna sighed. "We think it would be best for you."
"I don't need any help!" Val exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. "Why would you think I need to see a shrink? If anyone does, it would be you two! You're the ones with the problems, not me."
"Valerie!"
"No, I'm sorry, but it's the truth." Val stalked out of the dining room and made her way towards the front door.
Joanna glanced at her ex-husband, before following Val. "Honey, we didn't mean to upset you."
Val spun around to face Joanna. "I am an adult, mother. I can make my own choices, ok? Is that alright with you?" She asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "I don't why I even try to make us a normal family because, apparently, I'm just wasting my time!"
"I made you an appointment Monday at four o'clock," Joanna sighed.
Val let out an irritated scream and left the house, slamming the door behind her.
----------
"Do you remember what time my mom said she would pick up Lexi?" Caitie asked Jamie from the kitchen, where she was fixing snacks.
"In about fifteen minutes, why?"
"Just checking," Caitie replied. She glanced into the living room and laughed as she saw Jamie trying to fix Lexi's hair.
"Baby, I can't do your hair if you keep looking at the tv," Jamie informed her with a sigh. "Cait?"
Caitie walked into the living room and took the brush from Jamie. "Allow me." She lead Lexi over to the television and sat her down in front of it. Caitie took a seat behind Lexi and began pulling her hair up into pigtails.
"That's cheating!" Jamie exclaimed.
"Is not."
Jamie rolled his eyes and went into the kitchen. He washed his hands and picked up where Caitie had left off. "So, no word on Val?"
"Nope," Caitie shook her head. "I thought about calling the cops or something but I guess that would be kind of drastic. Plus, she hasn't been missing long enough."
"Val can take care of herself," Jamie reminded her.
Caitie nodded. "I know."
Jamie decided to change the subject. "Who all is coming?"
"Just the usual," Caitie replied, shooting a glance at Jamie. "Hank, Melanie, Tyler..."
"Heather?"
"Let's hope not." Caitie stood up when she heard the doorbell ringing. "Answer the door, please?" She asked, while trying to help Lexi into her coat.
Jamie walked over and unlocked the door, revealing Caitie's mother. "Hello, Mrs. Roth," he greeted her politely, holding the door open. "Thank you for letting Lexi stay with you this afternoon."
"Nonsense," Elizabeth Roth replied, walking into the house. "I love spending time with my granddaughter." She glanced back at Jamie. "And, please, call me Elizabeth."
"Right, Elizabeth," Jamie corrected himself. "Cait and Lexi are in the living room."
Caitie glanced up when she saw Jamie and her mother enter the room. "Hi Mom." She finished dressing Lexi and lead her across the room. "Say 'hi' to Grandma."
"Hi Gram." Lexi gave Elizabeth a toothy smile.
Jamie cleared his throat. "I'll just go put her things in your car, Mrs...er, Elizabeth."
"Thanks, Jamie." Caitie smiled and watched him leave the house.
Elizabeth hugged her daughter. "You look good, Caitie. How is work treating you? Does James live here?"
"Mother!" Caitie shook her head. "How subtle of you." She let out a sigh as she reached down to pick up Lexi. "Thank you, fine, kind of."
"What do you mean, 'kind of'?" Elizabeth asked curiously.
Caitie rolled her eyes. "He has his own apartment, but he likes to spend time with Lexi. He stays with her while I'm at work." She gave her mother a pointed look. "You know the situation, Mom. I don't see why you have to ask every time you stop by."
"Oh, alright," Elizabeth gave in. "I won't ask any more."
"Thank you," Caitie smiled. "I'll walk you to your car." As they walked outside, Caitie looked at her daughter. "Be good for Grandma, ok?"
"Okie," Lexi nodded her head.
Caitie pressed a kiss to Lexi's forehead and passed her to Jamie. He strapped her into the car and he, too, gave her a kiss.
"I love you, baby." Jamie said, before closing the door. They said goodbye to Elizabeth and waited until she had left the driveway, before going back inside.