Disclaimer: All still apply.

SOMETHING TO PROVE

(PART NINE)

Amanda stayed with Jesse for as long as she possibly could, until her own duties as a mother forced her to leave. She had desperately wanted to stay, not liking the way that Jesse's mood continued to deteriorate, nor how nothing that she said could cheer him up.

She didn't think that it was a good idea for him to be left alone, but in the end, she'd had no choice. She hadn't wanted to call Mark, knowing the burden of guilt that he himself was carrying. How could he come and keep Jesse company, following the events of that morning? The only other option was Steve and he was working late.

So, she had just quietly left, promising herself that she would call back round on her way into work the next day.

Jesse was barely even aware of her exit. In fact, he'd barely heard a word that she'd said to him for the last hour that she'd been there. Something about her visit had bothered him and now he sat, chewing things over in his mind, and growing more and more concerned.

Everything had been fine until he had asked why Mark had not been in touch. Well, maybe not exactly fine, considering how he had broken down, but at least normal. But, after that, Amanda had been distinctly evasive. At one point, she had been completely unable to meet his eyes.

It just wasn't like Amanda to be anything less than completely honest with him. Unless, he thought to himself, with growing despondency. She didn't believe me. Unless none of them do.

Unable to live with where that train of thought would take him, Jesse wandered into the bedroom and fell into bed, without even bothering to undress. His only intention was to hide from the world, until this whole, ugly matter was resolved. Whatever the outcome.

*****

The following day at work, Mark was the recipient of the most unexpected phone call. To begin with, he was only half-listening, as he tried to organise the scattered papers on his desk. He had a meeting with the Board that afternoon, one that he was totally unprepared for.

"Doctor Sloan, my name is Mick Donovan," a strange voice said, over the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Donovan. What can I do for you?" Mark picked up one of the diary entries and scanned it again, looking for some discrepancy, anything that might help Jesse. But those entries were every bit as damning as when he'd read them the first time.

"I understand that you're having some problems with Eric Flynn and his daughter."

That got Mark's attention and he froze, his fingers tightening on the paper he still held. Up until that moment, he had been certain that the hospital had successfully kept the whole nasty business under wraps.

"How could you possibly know anything about that?" he demanded.

"I know that family very well," Donovan explained. "I used to be a teacher at Oakley High School."

Oakley. Mark recognised the name instantly. Steve had told him that the Flynn family had originated from a little town in Delaware, called Oakley.

"I see," he answered slowly, wondering where all this was leading.

"No, I don't think you do, doctor." Donovan continued, his voice growing more intense. "I was a teacher there right up until I was accused of having an affair with one of my pupils. Namely, Melissa Flynn."

"My God," Mark breathed, scarcely daring to believe what he was hearing. "So Steve was right, they have done this before."

"Yes, doctor, they most certainly have and it was at the expense of my career. I don't want to see it happen to anyone else."

Mark's mind was racing as he wondered how the Board would react to this latest piece of information. With any luck, Jesse could be back at work the next day. He needed to get every last detail, so that he could present a convincing argument to his superiors.

"How did you hear about this?" he wanted to know.

"One of my colleagues, sorry, my former colleagues, called me and said that there had been an LA detective on the phone, asking questions about Melissa." Donovan explained. "None of them ever believed that I was guilty of what I'd been accused of. Unfortunately, my bosses didn't see it that way."

Mark suppressed a sigh. It was all starting to sound horribly familiar.

"Anyway," the former teacher continued. "I just couldn't sleep last night. I knew that they were trying to do it again. I spoke to the police and they directed my call here."

"Mr. Donovan, you will never know how eternally grateful I am," Mark told him fervently. Then added, hardly daring to hope: "I don't suppose that Melissa kept a diary back then?"

"She most certainly did, detailing everything about our supposed relationship. She had one Hell of an imagination."

"So I've seen," Mark murmured. "I don't suppose there's any chance that you kept copies?"

"Yes, I did," Donovan answered and Mark could barely believe his luck. "I kept everything. I always thought that one day I might be able to clear my name but, if they'll be any good to you, you're welcome to them."

"Could you please courier them to me? At my expense, of course."

"I'll do better than that, Doctor Sloan. I'm already booked on the next available flight. I'll be in LA by morning."

*****

An hour later, Mark could still hardly believe what had happened. The Board had to start listening to Jesse now. The very fact that the Flynn's had done something like this before, had got away with it before, had to be enough to at least plant the seeds of doubt.

And Mick Donovan was on his way to LA. He wanted to confront the people who had destroyed his career. He'd also told Mark a little of what Melissa had put him through and his and Jesse's stories were remarkably similar. A simple act of kindness had led to her developing an obsession with him. He'd been afraid that she was being bullied and had tried to help her. A few days later, her father had produced the diary that had ended up costing him his job.

Mark tried not to sound too thrilled as he ended the conversation. After all, nobody had been there to help Mick Donovan and his career was still ruined. But nobody was going to be able to ignore the implications of his words, regarding Jesse. The similarity of events was just to massive to be even considered coincidental.

He tried calling Jesse, repeatedly, wanting to impart the good news, but without success. The phone just rang and rang. Mark remembered the last time that he'd been unable to get in touch with his young friend and sincerely hoped that he hadn't turned to alcohol again.

Needing to share the news with someone, he called Steve. He also wanted to let him know that his exhaustive phone calls of the previous day had borne some fruition.

Steve reacted with delight, then also helped to put his dad's mind at ease by promising to call round at Jesse's as soon as he could. And if the young man had decided to get drunk, well, Steve intended to turn it into a celebration.

Just as Mark was hanging up the phone, Amanda appeared at his door and he waved her in with a smile, eager to bring her up to date. He noticed that the young woman was looking decidedly worried, but then she hadn't heard the news that Jesse was, in all likelihood, in the clear.

He repeated everything that Donovan had told him, unable to hide his relief. When he had finished, Amanda smiled back at him, but the worry was still evident in her eyes.

"That's truly good news, Mark," she said. "It's just what Jesse needs. Have you told him yet?"

"I haven't been able to contact him, but Steve..." Mark paused as he saw tears fill his young colleague's eyes. "Honey, what's wrong?"

"I'm just so worried about him, Mark." The words came out in a rush. "When I saw him last night, he was so down. I couldn't get through to him at all. He was really depressed and I'm just so scared that he might have done something stupid."

"I'm sure Jesse wouldn't do anything of the sort," Mark tried to reassure her. "And anyway, Steve's going to call round later."

"But what if..." Amanda wasn't deliberately being pessimistic, but Mark hadn't seen Jesse the night before. She had. "Mark, I went round again this morning, but he wouldn't answer the door. I must have been knocking for ten minutes. And now he's not answering the phone..."

Mark looked at her, gravely. He saw her genuine fear and her worry began to transfer itself to him. He reached for the phone.

"I think I'll just call Steve again," he said, grimly. "See if he can get straight round to Jesse's place now."

TO BE CONTINUED...