Double Jeopardy Epilogue
Matty and Libby walked up to Travis in the gentle shine of the noonday sun. Travis stopped leaning
against the car and unfolded his arms to hold out his hand to Matty. When the boy looked at his mother,
she encouraged him to go up to Travis.
"Matty, this is a very good friend of mine named Travis," she began.
"Hi, Travis," he murmured with a slight smile.
"He saved my life," she continued. Libby looked admirably at Travis and met his gaze. Something
inside her flickered. She realized that despite what they had been through before, she somehow had grown
attached to this man. He was likeable enough in that he had helped her finally put an end to her husband.
But he had been more than kind to her since then. He had wanted her to find her son. He had wanted her
to be happy. She deserved it of course, but he had been here for her until this moment of resolution. He
had chosen to stick with her until she was able to put her life back in order. She found herself wondering
now if he would stay in touch with her...if she would stay in touch with him. Like she had just told Matty,
Travis had saved her life, but so much more than that too.
Travis chuckled and rolled his eyes at what she had said. "Yes, but your mom saved my life, too, son.
She's a brave woman, you know that?"
Matty nodded even though he couldn't possibly conceive what his mother had been through. Travis
brushed his hand over the boy's head and rustled his hair. He looked back up at Libby, the woman who
had changed his life. Why had he come all this way to see her reunited with her son? Because he wanted
to see her happy once again. He wanted to be a part of what it was like to finally get the happy ending.
And she deserved it--of all the people he had ever known, Libby Parsons deserved happiness more than
anything. But he was also there for something else. What it was he couldn't exactly put his finger on, but
he knew this for sure, she was a very pretty woman, and she respected him for what he had done back in
New Orleans. That meant more to him than she knew. And something else too, he wanted to see her again.
He didn't want the excitement he felt with her to go away.
They met eyes again, and this time there was a unified feeling behind the gaze that no one identifies
right away. It would take time, and both of them wondered if they had time, but both of them also felt they
could make time if it meant realizing whatever it was that they felt for each other.
* * * * *
That night Libby and Matty checked into a hotel. Travis was still with them when they went to the
registration desk. As Libby finished the room arrangements, she asked Matty what he wanted to do for
dinner.
"Now, how about I treat you two to dinner, since you let me come all this way to see you reunite." He
blindly hoped she would accept.
"I don't know, how do you feel about it honey, do you want to go out to eat?" She asked her son
nicely. She wanted him to be comfortable-that was what was important to her.
"Uh huh, okay." He offered her a simple shrug.
"Than I guess that's an okay. Where to?" She asked Travis. She was almost surprised at his kindness.
He had seemed like such a jerk when she first met him.
She told him that when they had gotten into their rooms, and Matty was putting his suitcase that he had
brought from the school into his room.
"I know." he said sarcastically, sounding curious, as if he hadn't even realized it then, but know he
saw just how stupid he had acted. "But a lot has happened since then hasn't it?"
"Yes," she sighed.
Matty shut his door to change out of his soccer clothes.
Libby went and sat down on a couch in the middle of the living area. Travis came in and sat on the
other couch.
"So where do you plan to go after all this?" He asked her.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing." She smiled and continued, "I want to go back up to
where we used to live, it's where Matty and I spent most of his childhood. It'll remind me of life with
Nick, but I think I can handle a little justification. Maybe it's even a little mercilessness, but I hardly think
he deserved mercy for all the burdens he caused."
Travis nodded grimly.
"So where are you gonna go?" It was her turn to ask now.
"Well.I hadn't really thought about it, but I think I'll just go back on home. There's no job waiting
for me, but there's a hell of a recommendation. I think that should keep me going for a while until...well
until the next convicted murderer comes along and needs to be 'reconciled'," he twitched his two front
fingers at the word, "With her former husband."
Libby grinned at the cynicism. "It's not every day a girl like that comes along," she said lowly.
He looked at her soberly. "No, it's not." His tone of voice indicted he was feeling very convicted to
tell her something, but he was holding himself back. Finally he let it out, "Libby, I don't know what it is
about you. Maybe it was when you bashed my gun against my head, or when you crashed into my car,
destroying it completely, or when you cried on my shoulder in the alleyway, but..." He sighed heavily and
looked at the wall on the far side of the room, away from her.
She waited patiently for him to finish, looking him gravely in the face even though he wouldn't look at
her.
Finally he did look at her, and she saw the jumble of emotions and confusion in his eyes. She leaned
forward and reached out her hand to him. He met it with his own and squeezed it firmly.
"You're a strong woman, Libby. I've never met anyone so strong as you. I knew that from the
moment I first met you. Yeah, I've met lots of strong women-convicted killers...those kind of women,
but never one that had the kind of perseverance and goddamn beauty that you put into finding your son.
You ought to be awarded the Medal of Honor or something for all your outstanding willpower." He
stopped there, already overstepping his boundaries enough.
"I did what I had to do," she said distantly.
"No one has to do what you did. Any other woman could have just rotted in prison-but you chose to
fight."
Matty opened the door of his bedroom and walked out wearing a T-shirt and a pair of khakis. The boy
had impeccable style for an eleven-year-old. It was probably due to his father, Libby realized. And then
she hated her husband again, for having taken her away from her son for money.
Travis and Libby let go of each other's hands and she patted the seat next to her for Matty to come sit
down. She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, then wrapped her arm around her son.
"So where are we going to go eat?" She asked the both of them.
"You know the places, son, do you have anywhere in mind?" Travis questioned the boy.
Matty told them about an Italian restaurant he'd always wanted to go to with his dad, but his father had
never had the time. Libby wondered how to tell him that his father was dead, and that he was never going
to see him again. He would probably ask, but for now she wouldn't mention it.
Travis accepted the task of driving them to the restaurant and buying their meal. While they ate that
night, the two adults asked Matty all sorts of questions about himself, and what he'd been doing the last six
years. He didn't have a lot to say about the past six years of his life, but he did go on and on about school
and soccer.
When they paid and left, Travis told them he'd go to the airport and get a flight out early in the
morning.
"Promise me you'll stay in touch," Libby requested in the hall outside the rooms as he was leaving.
"Don't make yourself too hard to find, you may be getting an invitation to dinner at our house before you
know it." She smiled gingerly. Then she leaned forward and hugged him tightly. Her eyes grew wet and
her face swam with regret when she pulled away and looked him in the eyes. He looked back at her and
smiled warmly.
She quickly drew herself up, placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed him. He recoiled slightly
from the sudden impact of her lips and then started to walk away. "I guess it's goodbye then."
"Goodbye Travis," she said.
"Goodbye Ms. Parsons...Libby." And then he just walked down the hall, and said, "I look forward to
getting that invitation." Then he rounded the corner, got into the elevator and watched the metal doors
close. When they were shut and the elevator started to fall, he hit the wall and rested his head on it, closing
his eyes with the picture of her planted in his mind.
Matty and Libby walked up to Travis in the gentle shine of the noonday sun. Travis stopped leaning
against the car and unfolded his arms to hold out his hand to Matty. When the boy looked at his mother,
she encouraged him to go up to Travis.
"Matty, this is a very good friend of mine named Travis," she began.
"Hi, Travis," he murmured with a slight smile.
"He saved my life," she continued. Libby looked admirably at Travis and met his gaze. Something
inside her flickered. She realized that despite what they had been through before, she somehow had grown
attached to this man. He was likeable enough in that he had helped her finally put an end to her husband.
But he had been more than kind to her since then. He had wanted her to find her son. He had wanted her
to be happy. She deserved it of course, but he had been here for her until this moment of resolution. He
had chosen to stick with her until she was able to put her life back in order. She found herself wondering
now if he would stay in touch with her...if she would stay in touch with him. Like she had just told Matty,
Travis had saved her life, but so much more than that too.
Travis chuckled and rolled his eyes at what she had said. "Yes, but your mom saved my life, too, son.
She's a brave woman, you know that?"
Matty nodded even though he couldn't possibly conceive what his mother had been through. Travis
brushed his hand over the boy's head and rustled his hair. He looked back up at Libby, the woman who
had changed his life. Why had he come all this way to see her reunited with her son? Because he wanted
to see her happy once again. He wanted to be a part of what it was like to finally get the happy ending.
And she deserved it--of all the people he had ever known, Libby Parsons deserved happiness more than
anything. But he was also there for something else. What it was he couldn't exactly put his finger on, but
he knew this for sure, she was a very pretty woman, and she respected him for what he had done back in
New Orleans. That meant more to him than she knew. And something else too, he wanted to see her again.
He didn't want the excitement he felt with her to go away.
They met eyes again, and this time there was a unified feeling behind the gaze that no one identifies
right away. It would take time, and both of them wondered if they had time, but both of them also felt they
could make time if it meant realizing whatever it was that they felt for each other.
* * * * *
That night Libby and Matty checked into a hotel. Travis was still with them when they went to the
registration desk. As Libby finished the room arrangements, she asked Matty what he wanted to do for
dinner.
"Now, how about I treat you two to dinner, since you let me come all this way to see you reunite." He
blindly hoped she would accept.
"I don't know, how do you feel about it honey, do you want to go out to eat?" She asked her son
nicely. She wanted him to be comfortable-that was what was important to her.
"Uh huh, okay." He offered her a simple shrug.
"Than I guess that's an okay. Where to?" She asked Travis. She was almost surprised at his kindness.
He had seemed like such a jerk when she first met him.
She told him that when they had gotten into their rooms, and Matty was putting his suitcase that he had
brought from the school into his room.
"I know." he said sarcastically, sounding curious, as if he hadn't even realized it then, but know he
saw just how stupid he had acted. "But a lot has happened since then hasn't it?"
"Yes," she sighed.
Matty shut his door to change out of his soccer clothes.
Libby went and sat down on a couch in the middle of the living area. Travis came in and sat on the
other couch.
"So where do you plan to go after all this?" He asked her.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing." She smiled and continued, "I want to go back up to
where we used to live, it's where Matty and I spent most of his childhood. It'll remind me of life with
Nick, but I think I can handle a little justification. Maybe it's even a little mercilessness, but I hardly think
he deserved mercy for all the burdens he caused."
Travis nodded grimly.
"So where are you gonna go?" It was her turn to ask now.
"Well.I hadn't really thought about it, but I think I'll just go back on home. There's no job waiting
for me, but there's a hell of a recommendation. I think that should keep me going for a while until...well
until the next convicted murderer comes along and needs to be 'reconciled'," he twitched his two front
fingers at the word, "With her former husband."
Libby grinned at the cynicism. "It's not every day a girl like that comes along," she said lowly.
He looked at her soberly. "No, it's not." His tone of voice indicted he was feeling very convicted to
tell her something, but he was holding himself back. Finally he let it out, "Libby, I don't know what it is
about you. Maybe it was when you bashed my gun against my head, or when you crashed into my car,
destroying it completely, or when you cried on my shoulder in the alleyway, but..." He sighed heavily and
looked at the wall on the far side of the room, away from her.
She waited patiently for him to finish, looking him gravely in the face even though he wouldn't look at
her.
Finally he did look at her, and she saw the jumble of emotions and confusion in his eyes. She leaned
forward and reached out her hand to him. He met it with his own and squeezed it firmly.
"You're a strong woman, Libby. I've never met anyone so strong as you. I knew that from the
moment I first met you. Yeah, I've met lots of strong women-convicted killers...those kind of women,
but never one that had the kind of perseverance and goddamn beauty that you put into finding your son.
You ought to be awarded the Medal of Honor or something for all your outstanding willpower." He
stopped there, already overstepping his boundaries enough.
"I did what I had to do," she said distantly.
"No one has to do what you did. Any other woman could have just rotted in prison-but you chose to
fight."
Matty opened the door of his bedroom and walked out wearing a T-shirt and a pair of khakis. The boy
had impeccable style for an eleven-year-old. It was probably due to his father, Libby realized. And then
she hated her husband again, for having taken her away from her son for money.
Travis and Libby let go of each other's hands and she patted the seat next to her for Matty to come sit
down. She tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear, then wrapped her arm around her son.
"So where are we going to go eat?" She asked the both of them.
"You know the places, son, do you have anywhere in mind?" Travis questioned the boy.
Matty told them about an Italian restaurant he'd always wanted to go to with his dad, but his father had
never had the time. Libby wondered how to tell him that his father was dead, and that he was never going
to see him again. He would probably ask, but for now she wouldn't mention it.
Travis accepted the task of driving them to the restaurant and buying their meal. While they ate that
night, the two adults asked Matty all sorts of questions about himself, and what he'd been doing the last six
years. He didn't have a lot to say about the past six years of his life, but he did go on and on about school
and soccer.
When they paid and left, Travis told them he'd go to the airport and get a flight out early in the
morning.
"Promise me you'll stay in touch," Libby requested in the hall outside the rooms as he was leaving.
"Don't make yourself too hard to find, you may be getting an invitation to dinner at our house before you
know it." She smiled gingerly. Then she leaned forward and hugged him tightly. Her eyes grew wet and
her face swam with regret when she pulled away and looked him in the eyes. He looked back at her and
smiled warmly.
She quickly drew herself up, placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed him. He recoiled slightly
from the sudden impact of her lips and then started to walk away. "I guess it's goodbye then."
"Goodbye Travis," she said.
"Goodbye Ms. Parsons...Libby." And then he just walked down the hall, and said, "I look forward to
getting that invitation." Then he rounded the corner, got into the elevator and watched the metal doors
close. When they were shut and the elevator started to fall, he hit the wall and rested his head on it, closing
his eyes with the picture of her planted in his mind.