Disclaimer: All still apply.
SOMETHING TO PROVE
(PART SIX)
"I don't believe it!" Steve crashed the telephone down, a look of absolute fury on his face.
"Whatever's the matter?" Mark asked, coming down the stairs in his dressing gown.
It was the early hours of the morning and the telephone had disturbed them both. Now, seeing the look on his son's face, Mark began to dread the answer to his question.
"Jesse's been arrested."
Those were the very last words that Mark had expected to hear and he sank down onto the couch, with a look of utter shock on his face.
"Apparently he decided to have a few beers when he left the hospital last night," Steve continued, still clearly angry. "And then he decided that he was okay to drive home."
"Oh no," Mark muttered.
"That's not the worst of it. When the police pulled him over, thankfully before he could hurt himself or anybody else, he tried to run away."
"I shouldn't have let him go off like that." Mark shook his head, wondering what he could have done to prevent it. "Is he alright?"
"He won't be when I get my hands on him."
Mark knew that his son's anger was only due to worry and he had to admit that he wouldn't have minding getting hold of Jesse himself at that moment. If Eric Flynn were to find out about this, then it could seriously harm the young man's defence.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"The guy on duty owes me a favour and he said, that if I get Jesse out before his shift ends, then he'll overlook it." Steve sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "But I must admit, the way I'm feeling right now, I'm tempted to just leave him there."
"Steve!"
"Just kidding." Steve hurriedly reassured him. "But before I go, I'm going to have a shower and then get some breakfast. Then I'll think about getting him out. It'll do him good to sweat for a couple of hours. It might give him time to think about what he's done."
*****
The custody officer at the station had told Steve that he finished work at seven in the morning. So it was exactly quarter to that hour when the detective turned up to see Jesse. A night in the cells might be just what the young doctor needed to bring him to his senses.
As the cell door swung open, he stood with his arms folded and a stern expression on his face.
Jesse was already awake and sitting on the edge of his bunk, his head in his hands and suffering from the mother of all hangovers. He glanced up when the door opened and a smile lit up his face when he saw his best friend standing there.
"Steve!" He started to get up, but then soon thought better of it as his pounding head threatened to explode. "Can I go home now?"
"Will you give me a minute?" Steve spoke to somebody who stood out of Jesse's line of sight, then stepped into the cell. His expression was murderous.
"I'm so..." the young doctor began.
"How could you be so stupid?"
Jesse's attempted apology was lost in the face of Steve's wrath. He cringed as he remembered Mark using those exact same words less than a day ago.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time," he mumbled, staring at the floor. Tears of shame stung at his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.
"Jesse, you don't even drink." Steve still wasn't finished. "And as for trying to drive home... You're a doctor for Christ's sake. Haven't you seen enough of the consequences of that kind of thing? You could have killed somebody."
"I know and I'm sorry." Jesse turned his anguished gaze back up towards his friend. "I don't know what else I can say."
"Well, I don't think 'sorry' is going to cut it. What if you were sitting there facing a vehicular manslaughter charge? It could easily have happened, Jesse. You know it could."
Those words finally forced home to the young doctor exactly what he had done. His memories of the night before were cloudy, at best. What if he had woken up to the news that he had killed someone, without having any memory of it? He pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes, trying to forcibly keep the tears at bay.
"I'm sorry," he whispered again.
Steve stared at the humble looking man, seated before him. At his unshaven face, his rumpled clothes and the abject misery that he wore around him like a cloak.
Then he remembered exactly what it was that had driven Jesse to this and decided that he had been punished enough.
"Alright, I'm taking you home," he said, biting back a smile at the relief that lit up his young friend's face. "Don't get too excited, Jess. You've still got to try and explain all of this to my dad."
*****
Jesse sat silently in the passenger seat of Steve's car throughout the journey to his apartment. He was mortified by what he had done and could only dread the prospect of having to face Mark.
Steve glanced at him occasionally, slightly unnerved by his usually verbose friend's prolonged silence. However, he didn't make any attempt to instigate a conversation. He wasn't quite ready to let Jesse off the hook just yet, but when they arrived at the doctor's home, he did feel the need to say something.
"I've got to go to work," he said, as Jesse opened the car door. "I'm trusting you to just go inside and stay there. Dad said he'd call around later."
Jesse merely nodded, too ashamed to even look the other man in the eye.
"And Jesse, please, don't let him down again."
Those parting words stung Jesse more than anything else that Steve had said and, worst of all, he knew that he was right. He had let Mark down in a big way. Mark Sloan, who had treated him more like a son than a colleague, who had stood by him no matter what, even when it seemed like the whole world was against him, who had always been there for him.
If it were possible, Jesse's shame deepened and he kept his head low as he made his way to his front door, not wanting anyone to see the tears that he could no longer prevent from falling.
Once inside, he leaned back against the door, taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself down. It would be hard enough to face Mark, without being an emotional wreck at the same time.
Jesse glanced down at himself and realised just what a state spending the night in a prison cell had left him in. He definitely needed a shower. Then once he had made himself at least a little more presentable, he sat on the couch and waited, with dread churning in his stomach, for Mark to call round.
*****
Mark hadn't intentionally left Jesse waiting for the entire day, before going to see him. But events at the hospital had made it impossible for him to get away.
That morning, when he'd learned of Jesse's arrest, he'd fully intended to go and give the young man a piece of his mind. Now he no longer had the heart to do that. Burdened down by the news he had received just that afternoon, Mark stood outside Jesse's front door for a long moment, before finally plucking up the courage to knock.
It was a very subdued young doctor who opened the door to him, having had all day to worry. Jesse kept his eyes downcast, as he stood back to allow his mentor entry, knowing that he was about to receive a lecture and knowing even more so that he thoroughly deserved it.
"Jesse..."
There was something in Mark's voice that caused Jesse to look up sharply. He had been expecting anger, but all he heard was compassion.
"I think we should sit down." Mark guided his young friend towards the couch.
"You know, when people say that, it's only ever bad news. Couldn't we stay standing?" Jesse joked feebly.
"Please, Jess."
Knowing that whatever Mark had to say was serious, Jesse sat down heavily. His heart began to race as he saw the desperate look in his friend's eyes and he knew that he hadn't come bearing good news.
"Mark, what's happened?" he asked, even though he wasn't at all sure that he wanted to know the answer.
"Flynn has moved fast," Mark sighed, forcing himself to meet Jesse's pleading gaze. "His lawyer got in touch with the hospital earlier today and made them an offer."
"What kind of offer?"
"Jesse, they are insisting that they're taking this to court, no matter what the outcome of our investigation." He sighed and ran one hand over his eyes. "But they also said that they would be prepared to settle out of court, provided that they received appropriate compensation."
"So it's all about money," Jesse murmured.
"Not quite, there was one other proviso. The Flynn's will drop the lawsuit against the hospital if they are offered enough money, but with the added condition that you are dismissed from Community General."
TO BE CONTINUED...