Chapter 26
Bobby finished up the dishes as Joey finished his homework at the kitchen table. His friend Peter had brought it home for him from his teacher. Charlie had been fed, bathed and put to bed by 7:30. Bobby finished drying the pots from dinner and was putting them away when he turned to see Joey sitting and staring off into space.
"Hey, that doesn't get the homework done. Are you stuck on something?" he asked, sitting down in the chair next to him.
"No," Joey replied. "I was just thinking about Dad. Do you think he'll stay here now?"
"I don't know, Joey," answered Bobby. He didn't know how to answer this one. "Dad's job is in New York. They need him there, but I really don't know what he's gonna do," he finished. Bobby thought of all the nights that he'd spent doing just this and how he'd miss it if Jimmy took over. He remembered all the nights he'd spent here, helping Kim with the new baby. He even had his own room. Sure, it was the guest room, but it was his whenever he wanted it. Sometimes it felt like he spent more time here than at his own apartment.
Joey thought for a moment and then started doodling on his homework. "No television until that homework gets done. And you need a bath before you go to bed," he added.
Joey made a face and started back on his homework. After he finished his bath, did his homework and watched a little television, Bobby was herding him to his room upstairs across from Charlie's when Joey suddenly remembered that he told Jimmy he'd call him. "Bobby, I have to call Dad. I promised him. I don't want him to think I disappeared again," he said innocently.
Bobby went into Kim's room and grabbed the cordless phone and brought it back into Joey's room. He sat on the bed next to Joey and dialed the hospital. When the operator answered, he asked for Jimmy's room. He waited for Jimmy to pick up to make sure he'd gotten the right room.
"Hey, Jimmy. It's Bobby. I've got someone here that won't go to sleep until he talks to you," he said. He handed the phone to Joey and walked over to close the blinds in Joey's room. He listened to Joey talking and thought how much happier he sounded. A lot happier than he'd heard him in a while. Just as he finished closing the blinds, Charlie let out a yell, followed by a cry. Bobby hurried across the hall into Charlie's room to see what was wrong and get her back to sleep. After a couple of minutes of continued crying, despite having her diaper changed, Bobby thought that maybe she wanted a bottle. He brought her out into the hall and started down the stairs to warm up a bottle and stopped cold when he heard what Joey was saying.
"Oh, that's Charlie crying. She wants to eat again," he said innocently and then realized that his mother didn't want Jimmy to know about her yet. Bobby just about ran back into the room and saw the look of fear on Joey's face. He took the phone from Joey and said, "Jimmy. Joey's falling asleep so I'm gonna have to hang up," he said quickly, hoping that Jimmy didn't hear what Joey said.
"Bobby!" came Jimmy's voice through the phone. "Who's Charlie and why is she there?"
"Um, she's visiting. Kim should be up to see you soon and she can tell you all about it. Goodnight. I'll bring Joey over after school tomorrow. It's my day off," he said before he hung up.
Bobby looked down at Joey who looked ready to break out in tears. "Sorry, Bobby. It just slipped out," he said, looking at the floor.
"Not a problem," said Bobby. "It's gonna come out sooner or later anyway. Sooner rather than later I think," he thought to himself. "C'mon. Under the covers. School comes early tomorrow," he said, juggling Charlie and tucking Joey in. He turned off the light and closed the door and headed downstairs to warm up a bottle for Charlie.
He decided he wasn't going to call Kim and tell her that Joey had mentioned Charlie. "Why give her time to think up an excuse? It's about time for everything to come out," he said to Charlie in a sing-song voice as he waited for the bottle to heat up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kim paused at the door to Jimmy's room. She'd had a rough shift, but she knew she couldn't put this off any longer. She also knew that Jimmy was waiting for her. She peeked around the corner and saw him dozing in the bed, the light on the bedside table casting a low light on him. "God, he's still gorgeous," she thought to herself. She took a few steps in thinking that she could always tell him that he was sound asleep when she got there and she didn't want to wake him up. She turned off his light and started to tiptoe out of the room.
"Not so fast, Kimmy," she heard, anger in his voice. She stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned to face him.
"I thought you were sleeping. I figured I'd just stop up before work tomorrow and let you get some rest tonight," she said, smiling.
"No way I'm waiting another day," he said, not smiling at all. "I want to know why Kim? Why did you just leave like that and keep Joey from me?"
Her heart sank at the hurt she heard in his voice. "Jimmy. I just didn't know what to do. I guess I still wasn't over you and you were marrying Brooke," she tried.
"You knew for months - before I got shot - that Brooke and I were going to get married. Why take off all of a sudden?" he asked, the anger showing no sign of disappearing.
"Jimmy. I was confused. After that night we had together, I guess I kind of got my hopes up and then you went ahead and married Brooke like nothing ever happened. I just couldn't handle it," she said, starting to get upset all over again.
"Kim! That night was weeks before we got married and I thought that you were sorry it ever happened. I mean, you just let Brooke swoop in when I got shot and you stepped aside. I thought that's what you wanted," he said, getting more agitated. He started getting more pain in his head, but he didn't want to stop the conversation. Not until he was sure he had the reason behind Kim's disappearance.
He started to sit up and Kim immediately noticed him breaking out in a sweat and getting pale. She rushed over to him and coaxed him to lie back down. "Jimmy, please just lay down. You're making yourself worse," she said as he settled back. He closed his eyes for a moment until the dizziness passed and the nausea subsided. Kim started to walk toward the door. "Look, maybe that's enough for tonight. Why don't you get some rest and I'll come up before my shift tomorrow," she said as she grabbed her purse off the chair and started to head out the door. She was stopped by two words.
"Who's Charlie?" Jimmy asked. She turned quickly and looked at him. He saw that he'd struck a nerve - or something. "Kim, who is Charlie?"
"How do you know Charlie?" she asked him, shocked.
"I talked to Joey on the phone before he went to bed and I heard a baby crying. He told me it was Charlie. That she just wanted to eat again. Kim, WHO IS CHARLIE?" he persisted, despite the growing pain and nausea.
Kim walked over to him slowly, trying to figure out how to tell him without upsetting him. She finally decided that no matter how she said it, he was going to be upset. She had hidden his child from him. She hadn't even told him about her. She looked at his face as tears sprang to her eyes. She put a hand on his arm and sensing that she was about to tell him something very hard, Jimmy covered her hand with his.
"Jimmy, Charlie is, Charlie is short for Charlotte. She's my daughter," she said as a tear escaped down her cheek. "Charlie is YOUR daughter," she said quietly, a sob escaping her throat.
Jimmy drew his hand and arm away from Kim in shock. "What?!" he just about screamed. "Kim, how could you keep this from me. What gave you the right to keep her from me?"
"Jimmy, I'm sorry. I know now that it was a mistake. I just didn't know how to tell you. I didn't find out that you and Brooke broke up until after she was born and I didn't want to be the one to break up your marriage. I didn't want you to hate Charlie - or me," she finished, openly crying as she reached into her bag and took out some pictures that she kept there. She handed Jimmy the pictures and he too began to cry.
"Kim. How could I hate my own child? I could never," he said, stopping suddenly and dropping the pictures as Kim noticed his hands shaking.
She looked at his face and noticed the pained look. She grabbed his hand and pushed the call button with her other hand. "Jimmy. Can you hear me? Please, Jimmy," she said as the nurse came in.
"What happened?" the nurse asked as she picked up the phone to page the doctor on call for the night.
"He got upset. I tried to calm him down, but he just started shaking," Kim explained.
"He's having a seizure," she finished telling the doctor into the phone and hung up.
"No! It's not a seizure. He's looking at me. I know it's not a seizure. It's just pain. He's in terrible pain," she said as she stroked Jimmy's hair, trying to calm him down. The nurse gave him an injection through his IV.
"Jimmy, it's okay," Kim whispered into his year. "Just try to relax and the pain will start to go away. Just relax. I promise I won't run anymore," she said soothingly and she could feel him start to relax until he finally fell asleep with the help of the pain medication that he'd refused earlier so that he would be awake for when Kim got off work. A moment later the doctor rushed in and checked him over. He spoke to Kim and told her that it wasn't a seizure, just as she tried to tell the nurse.
"We're going to keep him knocked out until morning at least," the doctor told her. She left her number with the nurse's station and told them to call her for any change or if Jimmy woke up asking for her.
Bobby finished up the dishes as Joey finished his homework at the kitchen table. His friend Peter had brought it home for him from his teacher. Charlie had been fed, bathed and put to bed by 7:30. Bobby finished drying the pots from dinner and was putting them away when he turned to see Joey sitting and staring off into space.
"Hey, that doesn't get the homework done. Are you stuck on something?" he asked, sitting down in the chair next to him.
"No," Joey replied. "I was just thinking about Dad. Do you think he'll stay here now?"
"I don't know, Joey," answered Bobby. He didn't know how to answer this one. "Dad's job is in New York. They need him there, but I really don't know what he's gonna do," he finished. Bobby thought of all the nights that he'd spent doing just this and how he'd miss it if Jimmy took over. He remembered all the nights he'd spent here, helping Kim with the new baby. He even had his own room. Sure, it was the guest room, but it was his whenever he wanted it. Sometimes it felt like he spent more time here than at his own apartment.
Joey thought for a moment and then started doodling on his homework. "No television until that homework gets done. And you need a bath before you go to bed," he added.
Joey made a face and started back on his homework. After he finished his bath, did his homework and watched a little television, Bobby was herding him to his room upstairs across from Charlie's when Joey suddenly remembered that he told Jimmy he'd call him. "Bobby, I have to call Dad. I promised him. I don't want him to think I disappeared again," he said innocently.
Bobby went into Kim's room and grabbed the cordless phone and brought it back into Joey's room. He sat on the bed next to Joey and dialed the hospital. When the operator answered, he asked for Jimmy's room. He waited for Jimmy to pick up to make sure he'd gotten the right room.
"Hey, Jimmy. It's Bobby. I've got someone here that won't go to sleep until he talks to you," he said. He handed the phone to Joey and walked over to close the blinds in Joey's room. He listened to Joey talking and thought how much happier he sounded. A lot happier than he'd heard him in a while. Just as he finished closing the blinds, Charlie let out a yell, followed by a cry. Bobby hurried across the hall into Charlie's room to see what was wrong and get her back to sleep. After a couple of minutes of continued crying, despite having her diaper changed, Bobby thought that maybe she wanted a bottle. He brought her out into the hall and started down the stairs to warm up a bottle and stopped cold when he heard what Joey was saying.
"Oh, that's Charlie crying. She wants to eat again," he said innocently and then realized that his mother didn't want Jimmy to know about her yet. Bobby just about ran back into the room and saw the look of fear on Joey's face. He took the phone from Joey and said, "Jimmy. Joey's falling asleep so I'm gonna have to hang up," he said quickly, hoping that Jimmy didn't hear what Joey said.
"Bobby!" came Jimmy's voice through the phone. "Who's Charlie and why is she there?"
"Um, she's visiting. Kim should be up to see you soon and she can tell you all about it. Goodnight. I'll bring Joey over after school tomorrow. It's my day off," he said before he hung up.
Bobby looked down at Joey who looked ready to break out in tears. "Sorry, Bobby. It just slipped out," he said, looking at the floor.
"Not a problem," said Bobby. "It's gonna come out sooner or later anyway. Sooner rather than later I think," he thought to himself. "C'mon. Under the covers. School comes early tomorrow," he said, juggling Charlie and tucking Joey in. He turned off the light and closed the door and headed downstairs to warm up a bottle for Charlie.
He decided he wasn't going to call Kim and tell her that Joey had mentioned Charlie. "Why give her time to think up an excuse? It's about time for everything to come out," he said to Charlie in a sing-song voice as he waited for the bottle to heat up.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kim paused at the door to Jimmy's room. She'd had a rough shift, but she knew she couldn't put this off any longer. She also knew that Jimmy was waiting for her. She peeked around the corner and saw him dozing in the bed, the light on the bedside table casting a low light on him. "God, he's still gorgeous," she thought to herself. She took a few steps in thinking that she could always tell him that he was sound asleep when she got there and she didn't want to wake him up. She turned off his light and started to tiptoe out of the room.
"Not so fast, Kimmy," she heard, anger in his voice. She stopped dead in her tracks and slowly turned to face him.
"I thought you were sleeping. I figured I'd just stop up before work tomorrow and let you get some rest tonight," she said, smiling.
"No way I'm waiting another day," he said, not smiling at all. "I want to know why Kim? Why did you just leave like that and keep Joey from me?"
Her heart sank at the hurt she heard in his voice. "Jimmy. I just didn't know what to do. I guess I still wasn't over you and you were marrying Brooke," she tried.
"You knew for months - before I got shot - that Brooke and I were going to get married. Why take off all of a sudden?" he asked, the anger showing no sign of disappearing.
"Jimmy. I was confused. After that night we had together, I guess I kind of got my hopes up and then you went ahead and married Brooke like nothing ever happened. I just couldn't handle it," she said, starting to get upset all over again.
"Kim! That night was weeks before we got married and I thought that you were sorry it ever happened. I mean, you just let Brooke swoop in when I got shot and you stepped aside. I thought that's what you wanted," he said, getting more agitated. He started getting more pain in his head, but he didn't want to stop the conversation. Not until he was sure he had the reason behind Kim's disappearance.
He started to sit up and Kim immediately noticed him breaking out in a sweat and getting pale. She rushed over to him and coaxed him to lie back down. "Jimmy, please just lay down. You're making yourself worse," she said as he settled back. He closed his eyes for a moment until the dizziness passed and the nausea subsided. Kim started to walk toward the door. "Look, maybe that's enough for tonight. Why don't you get some rest and I'll come up before my shift tomorrow," she said as she grabbed her purse off the chair and started to head out the door. She was stopped by two words.
"Who's Charlie?" Jimmy asked. She turned quickly and looked at him. He saw that he'd struck a nerve - or something. "Kim, who is Charlie?"
"How do you know Charlie?" she asked him, shocked.
"I talked to Joey on the phone before he went to bed and I heard a baby crying. He told me it was Charlie. That she just wanted to eat again. Kim, WHO IS CHARLIE?" he persisted, despite the growing pain and nausea.
Kim walked over to him slowly, trying to figure out how to tell him without upsetting him. She finally decided that no matter how she said it, he was going to be upset. She had hidden his child from him. She hadn't even told him about her. She looked at his face as tears sprang to her eyes. She put a hand on his arm and sensing that she was about to tell him something very hard, Jimmy covered her hand with his.
"Jimmy, Charlie is, Charlie is short for Charlotte. She's my daughter," she said as a tear escaped down her cheek. "Charlie is YOUR daughter," she said quietly, a sob escaping her throat.
Jimmy drew his hand and arm away from Kim in shock. "What?!" he just about screamed. "Kim, how could you keep this from me. What gave you the right to keep her from me?"
"Jimmy, I'm sorry. I know now that it was a mistake. I just didn't know how to tell you. I didn't find out that you and Brooke broke up until after she was born and I didn't want to be the one to break up your marriage. I didn't want you to hate Charlie - or me," she finished, openly crying as she reached into her bag and took out some pictures that she kept there. She handed Jimmy the pictures and he too began to cry.
"Kim. How could I hate my own child? I could never," he said, stopping suddenly and dropping the pictures as Kim noticed his hands shaking.
She looked at his face and noticed the pained look. She grabbed his hand and pushed the call button with her other hand. "Jimmy. Can you hear me? Please, Jimmy," she said as the nurse came in.
"What happened?" the nurse asked as she picked up the phone to page the doctor on call for the night.
"He got upset. I tried to calm him down, but he just started shaking," Kim explained.
"He's having a seizure," she finished telling the doctor into the phone and hung up.
"No! It's not a seizure. He's looking at me. I know it's not a seizure. It's just pain. He's in terrible pain," she said as she stroked Jimmy's hair, trying to calm him down. The nurse gave him an injection through his IV.
"Jimmy, it's okay," Kim whispered into his year. "Just try to relax and the pain will start to go away. Just relax. I promise I won't run anymore," she said soothingly and she could feel him start to relax until he finally fell asleep with the help of the pain medication that he'd refused earlier so that he would be awake for when Kim got off work. A moment later the doctor rushed in and checked him over. He spoke to Kim and told her that it wasn't a seizure, just as she tried to tell the nurse.
"We're going to keep him knocked out until morning at least," the doctor told her. She left her number with the nurse's station and told them to call her for any change or if Jimmy woke up asking for her.