"How come I had to stay longer than you did?"
"Well, Ray, that's because I was a good girl. The nurses liked me. Besides, it was only an extra day."
"Yeah, yeah."
"Well, shall we, in your terms, hit the road?" Ben said as Stan pulled the GTO to the front of the hospital. Ray and Jess were in wheelchairs, Ben pushing one and an orderly pushing the other. Jess' arm was in a sling.
Ben offered Jess his hand, which she accepted against her 'women can do anything' attitude.
"Hey! What about me?"
"You want me to carry you, Vecchio?" Stan asked sarcastically.
"I'd rather walk than have your stinking fingers anywhere near me." He retorted, getting out of the wheelchair.
Jess sighed. Things were beginning to get back to normal.
Ben pulled the seat forward and helped Jess climb in. He then climbed in behind her and returned the seat to its regular position, allowing Ray to settle himself in the front seat.
"Freedom, finally." Jess breathed a sigh of relief. She could now go home and live her life knowing that she would be safe once again. "You can just drop me off at my apartment and I'll be out of your hair for good."
Ray spoke up, "Jess, if you think it's going to be that easy to get rid of us, you've got another thing coming."
"You got that right. Fraser, here, spoke to Ma Vecchio this morning and it seems were all going over there tonight for dinner.
Right?"
"That is correct, Ray. Ma wanted to celebrate, so to speak, Ray's homecoming. We're all going over there, tonight, yourself included, Jess."
Jess gaped. She was speechless. "Me?! So, I'm not just another assignment to you guys?"
"Hell, no! What in the world would give you that idea? Besides, even if you were just another assignment, I don't think any of us would protest against getting to know you better."
"We've all seen your vulnerability AND your strength of character, Jess..."
"We want to get to know you better. That is, if you'll let us..."
Jess was touched by their dedication and willingness not to let her out of their lives. Nobody had ever done that for her before. She had made it in a world that looked down upon women. She had crashed through that glass ceiling on her own. Nobody had been willing to help her...until now. She could feel her throat constricting as her vision became blurred with the tears that gathered there. "Of course I'll let you," She choked out. How could she refuse?
She reached for Ben with her uninjured arm and wrapped it around his neck, hugging him. He, in turn, wrapped both arms around her and returned the embrace.
She extracted her arm from around Ben's neck and reached for Ray who turned in his seat to hug Jess.
She then reached for Stan. "Whoa, wait a minute, let me pull over first." Jess smiled as Stan pulled over onto the side of the road. He killed the engine before turning to Jess and giving her a big hug. He then pulled away slightly, looked into her eyes and smiled. "Aw, group hug!"
Before she had the chance to realise what was happening, Jess found herself enveloped in arms from all three men. They sat there until Ben broke the silence. "We really should get Jess home so she can get changed before dinner."
"Good point, Benny. Come on, Kowalski, let's hit the road."
An hour and a half later, Ben, Stan and Jess stood on the front porch of the Vecchio's home. Jess was nervous. Actually, she was more than nervous, she was terrified. What if they don't like me? How am I supposed to act?
Stan saw the look of trepidation on her face. He took her hand and squeezed it. Leaning towards her, he whispered, "You'll be fine. Just act naturally."
Startled, Jess turned to Stan to find that they were mere millimetres apart. "I hope you're right." She whispered back. She couldn't have said it louder if she tried. He read my mind. How did he do that? I'm glad he can't feel my heartbeat. If it was racing before, it was racing even faster now.
She felt almost dizzy and was glad when the door opened revealing Ray on the other side. "Welcome to my humble abode!" He ushered all three of them inside. Voices could be heard from every direction, the women in the kitchen, the children down the hall, the television blaring from the den.
The introductions began. Francesca breezed into the room. "Jess, this is my sister, Francesca, Frannie, this is Jessica Mitchell." They shook hands as Ray continued, "Frannie is the Civilian Aid at the station."
Jess smiled at Frannie as the petite brunette let go of Jess' hand and practically threw herself at Ben in a more than friendly embrace. "Hello, Ben, it's so nice to see you again." Jess raised her eyebrows and mouthed, "okay..." at Frannie's display. Ray shook his head and lead Jess into the Family room. There, they found Tony sprawled out on an armchair watching television. "Tony, meet Jess, Jess, Tony, my sister, Maria's husband." They exchanged their greetings and moved on towards the kitchen.
"Now, here we have the other Vecchio women." Frannie had rejoined Maria and Ma in the kitchen and all three ladies were working away busily in the kitchen. "Frannie you've already met, this is my older sister, Maria and my Ma." He said indicating each of them. "Ma, Maria, this is Jess." She shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with Maria.
She then turned to Ma, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Vecchio. I hope I'm not imposing..."
"Nonsense! Any friend of The Three Musketeers' is welcome in this home...and please, call me 'Ma'."
Jess laughed. That was the perfect description for the trio of Ben, Ray and Stan, The Three Musketeers.
"Is there anything I can do to help, Ma?"
"You're our guest, Jess. Go into the den and sit down, dinner will be ready soon, anyway."
Ma smiled at Jess and she smiled back. She relaxed visibly at the Italian woman's openness to her presence. As she turned to leave the kitchen with Ray, she looked back at Ma's gentle face as she ushered Jess from the room with a small movement of her hand.
After a boisterous and enjoyable meal, Jess, Ben and Stan made their way to leave. Ray got up, "I'll see you guys out."
"Thank you for dinner, Ma. It was wonderful." Jess told Ma straight from the heart. They all said their goodbyes and moved towards the door. Once out on the porch, Jess pulled her coat more tightly around her. She turned to address Ray as he was saying something to Stan in a hushed voice.
"Your family is amazing, Ray. I'm so glad I met them..." Her smile turned into a frown when she saw Ray's expression. "Ray, what's wrong?"
Stan spoke up, "Jess, we recovered the tapes that were in the video camera behind the mirror."
He saw Jess' sharp intake of breath and continued cautiously, "Nobody's seen them yet, and you have the right to see them first, but if you don't want to, it's perfectly understandable." They all waited for Jess' reaction.
"Can they be destroyed?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper.
"Just say the word and they're gone, but you should know, Jess, that sometimes in situations like this, that sometimes it's best to see the tapes. It might help to put some ghosts to rest. We'll all be there if you want us to be, Jess...It's your choice." Ray finished.
Jess closed her eyes and thought for a while before speaking slowly, "Okay, I'll watch them, but only if all three of you are in that room with me...I can't go though this alone."