Chapter Four:
Kris wasn't able to relax and stop thinking about things. She'd tried, but it wasn't working. Now she was cleaning her house in order to dispel the nervous energy. There was a knock on the door. She went to answer it and found Jill standing there.
"Jill!" They hugged. "Come in! Why didn't you just use your key, and what are you doing here anyway?"
"Slow down. I saw you were home, so I knocked, like any civilized person would. After all, it's your house now. And since when do I need a reason to see my baby sister?"
"You don't. I just thought that you were in France right now."
"I was, and I won. Does that surprise you?"
"No, not at all." They sat on the couch. "So, let's play catch-up. What's new with you?"
Jill relayed her latest adventures. "Now it's your turn."
Kris began speaking. As she spoke, Jill studied her carefully, without letting on that she was scrutinizing her. It was good to know that she still had her detective skills. Jill was looking for signs that all was not well with her sister. She found them.
The most obvious, to anyone who knew Kris was her eyes. There was no sparkle there. They looked haunted. She was also pale and drawn. And of course, there was her activity of cleaning the house. She wouldn't be doing that on such a gorgeous day like this. Something was definitely wrong. Jill was going to find out what.
Kris had completed her part of the catch-up. "So anyway, why didn't you call me?"
"I wanted to surprise you." Jill said.
"You did. How long can you stay for?"
"I'm free for a while, indefinitely."
Now Kris looked at her suspiciously. "Okay. You don't just drop in from your busy schedule. What's going on?"
"I could ask you the same question."
"What do you mean? Now Kris's guard was up.
"I mean, I got a call from Charlie. Bosley told him about what happened in the office. They're all worried about you. Frankly, I was too when I heard about it. Now that I see you I'm even more worried. Talk to me, Kris. Tell me what's going on."
Kris got up and began pacing back and forth. "That's it! They couldn't wait to call my big sister to have her check up on me. I told them, and I'm telling you, everything is fine." She ran into the bathroom and slammed the door.
This was much worse than Jill had feared. It looked like she had to take charge of things. After a short time, she marched to the bedroom and went in without knocking to wait for her sister. Kris was already there. She was lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, arms folded across her chest. "Just go away."
"Can't do that. Sorry. I love you too much." She sat down at the foot of the bed. You don't have to talk to me. Yet. You should know, though, that Charlie, Bosley, Kelly, and even Tiffany are very worried about you.
Kris turned toward her sister. "You said that already."
"I know, but it bears repeating."
"So, how did you get here? I know Charlie must have tracked you down."
"Yea, in France. Bosley dropped me off. He picked me up at the airport too. Good old Bos."
"Yea, good old Bos." Kris sighed. "So what do we do now? I guess you heard. I'm off for a while. They're doing the next case without me."
Jill heard a slight tremor in her voice, but decided to overlook it for now. The important thing was to get Kris to agree to the plan she had in mind. "So you're free and I'm free. Why don't we spend some time together?"
"I don't know…"
"Hey, you don't find my company wonderful anymore?"
"It's not that." 'It's just that if we spend any time together you'll find out about my nightmares, and I can't allow that to happen,' Kris thought.
"Come on. Let's take a vacation together. I'm sure you're better behaved than when we were kids, Sweet Christmas." *1.
Use of the childhood nickname caused Kris to smile. Jill was suspicious enough. She certainly wasn't going to go away. Maybe being with her sister would keep the nightmares at bay, although she doubted it. "You're not going to take no for an answer, are you, Jill?"
"You're right about that."
"Okay, Kris gave in. Where shall we go?"
"I know the perfect place. A friend of mine has a place in the mountains. Get packed and let's get on our way."
*1. See episode #59, "Angels on Vacation".
