Family Problems

"Jesse, just calm down, she can't have gone far, anybody coming in would have been logged at the gate, just as we were, I know we didn't stop, but they know you and they know me. Jess, she's probably just gone for a walk."

"No, no, she would have told me, ah!" Jesse raised both hands in a gesture of despair, "I was just beginning to relax a little, I left her at home today with Eliana, I didn't even leave a list of numbers to call, and look where it got me."

Steve could see that there was no point in trying to reason with his friend, so he moved across to the security phone and dialled the number for the gatehouse.

"Hi, this is Lieutenant Steve Sloan, LAPD, I'm at number 37, the Travis residence, did Mrs Travis have any visitors this morning? … Thank you … no, I'll hold." Steve turned to indicate what he was doing, but Jesse wasn't looking at him. "Jesse, stop pacing, you are probably worrying over nothing, and using up valuable energy, just … hello? … Oh, right, ok, and then they came back towards the house, yes?... Thanks a lot … no, there's no problem, bye." Steve put the receiver back on the phone. "She had a package to go sign for, the guard said that once she had done that she slid the envelope onto the bottom of the stroller and then she and her friend, which I'm guessing was Jo, began to walk back this way."

"Then where are they?" Jesse ran his fingers through his hair and wasn't really concentrating at all on what Steve was doing.

Steve had moved across to the entranceway, and was looking out towards the sidewalk. "Jesse, come here… Jess, come here and listen." His friend finally did as he was told, and the worried expression was first replaced with one of delight and then anger.

The sound of laughter and conversation floated towards the two men as they stood listening.

"But if that's your ideal man … … … you are with … … … short an' fair haired?"

"Jesse is just … … me, besides, I don't … … … with an ideal … all that pampering … … ing, I'd never get in the bathroom."

The half heard conversation dissolved into giggles and then Steve and Jesse saw the two women and the stroller appear round the corner, Jo and Rae obviously had no idea they had caused major problems and were walking leisurely back towards Rae's house, as smiling and relaxed as Steve had seen them in a long while. Jesse however, didn't notice any of that.

"Rae!"

Steve saw both women jump and do a double take, then Rae looked at her friend with a puzzled expression and he could see that they increased their walking pace a little. Rae was still not a quick walker, and even after speeding up she wasn't moving fast enough for Jesse and before Steve could stop him his friend was storming down the sidewalk towards his wife.

"Where have you been? I've been worried sick!"

Steve couldn't help but smile; he could hear his own mother in his mind calling out those very words when either he or Carol came home late. For a moment the smile faded, when he married Jo neither his mom or his sister would be there to see it, the sadness was a deep heavy weight, but he didn't have time to work it through at the moment and so he put the images of the two beautiful women to the back of his mind and turned to the scene in front of him. The very angry young man was now pushing the stroller and walking towards him far too fast for Rae to keep up, or perhaps she had decided not to try, that would be in character for her. 

As Jesse came past Steve he didn't even look up but just kept pushing the stroller and walked straight in through the front door. Jo and Rae came up behind him, the relaxed happy atmosphere gone, one of anxiety and bemusement in its place. Steve put his hand on Jo's arm, "Honey, I think we should go."

Jo nodded her agreement and turned to her friend. "Rae, I have no idea what caused that, but if it was me then I'm real sorry. Give me a call when you have a minute but we'll see each other at the beach house anyway. Oh, an' I hope the meal goes all right tonight. You take care, y'hear?" Jo kissed Rae on the cheek, and moved away, then with a cheeky grin she turned, "Look out for the tall, dark an' handsome ones, I hear they're wicked!"

Rae stuck her tongue out at Texas, and then with a big sigh she turned and entered the house, knowing that for some reason she couldn't fathom she was in big trouble.

Jo and Steve walked over to their cars and then as he was about to get in Steve felt Jo's hand on his shoulder. "Honey, whatever happened? Why are you here? An' what is wrong with Jesse?"

"I had to go to Community General to pick up a report from Amanda, and I called in to see Jesse, just to find out what happened last night, anyway he called to see if you and Rae had made up, and there was no reply…"

"An' he panicked, an' made you drive him over, siren blarin', lights flashin' an' when you got here she wasn't where she was supposed to be, neither was I, nor Eliana, an' he panicked."

"That's about the size of it. I knew he was still worried about Rae, but I didn't realise quite how paranoid about it he was."

Jo smiled at him, she could understand Jesse's reaction completely, but she could also see that it was over the top, and it began, slowly, to put her own doubts into perspective.

"I guess you have to go back to work now?"

"I do, but I am going to try to get that day off, soon as I get in I'm gonna go see the Captain, and do what Rae calls her dying swan impersonation, think that will do the trick?"

"Do you want to get the day off, or be sent for psychoanalysis?"

"Oh, ha, ha… Just ask, huh?"

"Mm, darlin' I would say just askin' would be your best bet, now go to work, or he will say you already had a day off." Jo stood on tip toes and kissed Steve gently on the tip of the nose, but as she started to move away she felt his hand go into her hair, and she began to get a proper goodbye kiss. When Steve pulled back Jo smiled at him. "I tell you what, you could spend the whole day leavin' to go to work, comin' back an leavin' again, then I could have me some more of that sugar!"

Steve pecked her gently on the cheek and then climbed into his car; she saw him wince as he sat down but decided not to mention it. He waved his hand and then drew away from the kerb. Jo turned and walked the few steps back towards her own car, as she did so she heard Rae's raised voice coming out of the open kitchen window, and hurriedly climbing in and putting her seatbelt on, she followed her husband-to-be out of the main gates.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"What were you thinking just going off like that? Anything could have happened. I can't believe you would leave our daughter so open to danger."

"Jesse, I went to the gatehouse to get a package, not the middle of downtown Baghdad."

Rae was trying very hard to keep her voice down to a normal level so she didn't upset her daughter who was still sitting in her stroller looking up at first her mommy and then her daddy, depending upon who was speaking.

"But you didn't call, or leave a note to say where you'd gone." Jesse's voice took on an almost spoilt quality, and he turned away for an instant, not wanting to give that impression.

"Jesse, for goodness sake, I went to the gatehouse."

"I know, you said that, but then where did you go? You weren't here when I called, and you still weren't here when I arrived with Steve, that is way longer than it takes to get a package."

"Ok, not that it is any of your business where I went, but anyway, I took Eliana to the green. Texas pushed the stroller, and I walked along side, we chatted about this and that and enjoyed the sunshine. I realised that I couldn't remember the last time I had been for a walk with my daughter and so I decided that I didn't want to come straight in when I had picked up the envelope from the guard, so we kept on walking, and when we got to the benches we sat for a while, Eliana played on the grass and Texas and I discussed the attributes we would want in an ideal man. Possessiveness was not one of the ones I chose." Rae had been speaking quietly, but her voice was raised as she threw the last words at her husband and turned to leave the room.

Jesse reached out and grabbed her by the arm and was horrified when she shied away from him. His anger was instantly forgotten and he moved closer to her, seeing only the fear in her eyes.

"Rae? Honey, what's wrong? My God, you didn't think I was gonna hit you, did you?" Jesse looked at Rae, hoping to reassure her, and he remembered how beaten and abused she had been at the hands of that animal, Phillip Levington, who had stalked, terrorised and finally kidnapped her. "I would never, ever hurt you, Rae, you know that don't you?"

"What? No, I mean yes, Jess, I'm sorry; I guess it was just a reaction to when, when I was with him." Rae shuddered and felt Jesse pull her into his arms. "I know you care for me, Jesse, and you only came hurtling home because you were worried for me, but I'm fine, please, let me live my life, how I want to, not how you want me to, I can't cope with this cosseting."

Jesse let go of her and looked at her. "I love you, Rae, I can't imagine my life without you, and trust me I've tried, because I've come so close to losing you, promise me you will take your cell phone with you everywhere you go, then I can always reach you."

"Jess, I do, you know that, but right now it's in the kitchen charging up. Once it's finished I will put it back in my pocket."

Jesse checked his watch and with a sigh realised that he had to leave. "Honey, I have to get back to the hospital, promise me you will stay here for the rest of the day, I can take Eliana to Sally …"

"No! Jesse, don't you dare! I don't need to be treated like this, I can look after her and do all the other things I have planned and they will all be done before Alex and Shannon arrive, now go, before I really lose my temper!"

Jesse looked at his wife and knew that he had no chance of getting anything changed right now, but he knew that things had to be done to make sure that she was safe at all times, and he would be the one to do them. "Ok, but you stay in the house, I'll lock the door on the way out and you stay in here."

"Oh, so now you're gonna hold me prisoner in my own home? What makes you any different from Levington then, Jesse? Maybe you would like to tie me down too, so you know exactly where I am? Just go, Jess, and you can think yourself lucky if I haven't had the locks changed by the time you get home." Rae turned away from him, she was so angry that she couldn't speak anymore, her hands were in painfully tight fists and she could feel the tears just behind her eyes, but she knew that they were tears of rage, and they would do her no good if she let them loose.

Jesse face reflected his horror as he watched his wife as she stood, her back to him, and he could see from her body language that she was struggling to keep herself under control, but she wasn't the only one. He hoped that she didn't realise the pain her words had caused him, how could she compare him to that, that man. Surely, she wouldn't have said those things to wound him, she loved him too much for that, didn't she?  For a moment Jesse could neither think nor breathe, but then he managed to swallow down his almost overwhelming anger and fear and he looked over at Rae once again. Her shoulders were tense, and he thought that would be causing her extra pain, and he saw her right hand balled into a tight fist. He knew that he had gone too far, but so had she, and they would need to discuss what had happened but now wasn't the time, he had responsibilities, and he had to get back to the hospital. Without another word he turned and left the house, locking the door as he had said he would, and then he realised that he had another problem.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Steve stood, a folder of, even for their precinct, gory details in his hand and waited for the Captain to give him permission to enter his office. Steve could see that his boss was on the phone, but he knew that if he went back to his desk to wait he may never get to speak with him. Finally the receiver was replaced and Captain Newman looked up.

"Come in, Sloan, and shut the door behind you. What do you have for me, information on the drive by or more on your musical loving nutcase?"

"I have nothing more on the drive by yet, Sir. I sent the partial plate details down to the auto guys and they sent me back a list of names and addresses. Ben Chapman and Sam Yip are working on them this morning, but I haven't heard from them, so I'm guessing they don't have anything to report as yet."

"You would have body parts for me then, Lieutenant? I read your report from last night; I think a health warning on the front might have been in order."

"Yes, Sir, I'm sorry, Sir." Steve closed his eyes for a second as he thought back to the previous evening.

"Steve, are you all right? Finding something like that, well, it would be a shock to any man." Newman looked across the desk at the tall man before him. He was his most experienced detective, and he had a feeling that had the jar been found in anybody else's vehicle, that person wouldn't have been at work the following day. He knew it was a tribute to his officer's character and determination that he was standing before him, albeit a little pale, right now.

"Yes, Sir, and you're right, it was a shock, but I have to put that aside, and just find the guy who is doing this."

"You're sure it's a man?"

"Sir?" Steve looked at his Captain. The idea of S. Todd being a woman hadn't occurred to him.

"I don't know that I would have thought of it if your shooter hadn't been a woman, but it could be, couldn't it?"

"I guess so. I hadn't thought of it either. No, nothing so far indicates that it is definitely a man but, well …"

"Somehow it would be even worse if it was a woman?" Captain Newman smiled at his officer, the world of crime hadn't made it into the age of sexual equality yet, certain offences were committed by men, others by women, and the line was seldom crossed.

"Yeah, and trust me whoever did this, it's bad, it's a long time since I had a case like this, and I don't ever want another one."

"So, what does your dad say about it, and Reagan?"

"Ah, um, well, Dad was the one who worked out that S. Todd was Sweeney Todd, Sir." Steve was a little flabbergasted. He knew that his boss was aware of the fact that he shared his information with his father, they had worked together, the three of them on numerous occasions, but the captain didn't normally mention it, and as for Rae, well, he hardly ever mentioned Rae when she wasn't working.

"Lieutenant, if you didn't share your case information with your father I would think you were coming down with something, and Reagan is your partner, I realise that she is on extended medical leave at present, but she is still your official partner, and once again I would be more surprised if you didn't share these things with her… How is she by the way?"

"Better than she was, Sir." Steve wondered fleetingly who had come off worse in the argument that was sure to have followed his visit to the Travis household that morning. "She's planning to go to a rehab centre up near San Fran for about a month, they specialize in the type of shoulder injuries that she has. I know that she still wants to come back to work, and, well, I want her back too, Sir."

"I'm sure you do and I would suggest you go and talk to her about all of this before she heads off into the far reaches of the state. You may go, Lieutenant."

"Ah, Sir, before I do, could I just ask you something?"

"Yes, Sloan, what is it?" the Captain looked back up at his officer; he usually knew when a meeting was over without being asked to leave, so he obviously had something else on his mind.

"I wondered, Sir, I know we are … short staffed, but, could I take Monday off? I have plenty of leave accumulated, and Jo and I … well we're …"

"Yes, that'll be fine. Make sure that the new officer on the desk knows that you won't be in, and keep your cell turned on, just in case another body part turns up, or the location of your shooter is determined. No one will contact you for any other reason. Now, Lieutenant, if you don't mind…"

"Yes, Sir, thank you, Sir." Steve left the room with a grin spread across his face, and headed straight for his desk and the phone, he picked it up and dialled the number which had become so familiar to him, and was, he guessed, really his own home number. As he waited for Michael to answer Steve thought about his captain. He had been on the receiving end of his temper a few times, and he had thought him unreasonable and boneheaded too, but there had been no problem with his request, Steve knew that it was a difficult job, and Captain Newman carried it out better than most.

"Walters's residence, how may I help you?"

"Michael, hi it's Steve, listen, I have a favour to ask you…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It took Jesse almost an hour to get back to the hospital. He had realised, once he had locked the door, that his car was still in Community General's parking lot, and he had no intention of going back into the house so he had waited for a cab at the gatehouse, now he was taking a young man with what looked like two broken fingers into trauma three, hoping that he got him to the waiting chair before he passed out.

"You could have stayed on the gurney you know."

"Yeah, man, but they're so for girls."

"Put your head down for a moment, that'll help." Jesse moved across to get a pair of gloves on, trying unsuccessfully to smother the smile on his face as he did so. "Um, how did you hurt your hand, Mr. Watson?"

"I was working in my garage, and well, the wheels just started to move, man, and my fingers were like inside the spokes." The words were a little muffled so Jesse knew his instructions had been obeyed.

"You have a motorbike, what sort? How powerful?"

"No, pedal power, man, no damage to the ozone layer."

"You broke your fingers on a bike?"

"Broken, oh man, I guess there will be no band practice for the next couple of weeks then?"

"No, I wouldn't think so. Now, I want you to sit in a wheelchair while you are taken to x-ray, and they will look at your fingers and deal with whatever treatment you need, have a nice day, Mr. Watson."

"Yeah, you too, man."

Jesse moved out into the hallway and indicated for a nurse to come and remove his patient, then he went to the young lady on duty at the reception desk for the ER. "Do you have any patients hiding away anywhere, or is it still quiet?"

"No, Doctor Travis, it's still quiet, but I'm sure that it will liven up soon, I'm due to finish in an hour, so, ooh about fifty minutes time it should be real busy all of a sudden."

"I'll be in the doctor's lounge if you need me; I just have to make a call."

"Yes, Doctor." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Steve had been looking through missing person files for almost three hours when his phone finally rang and he was able to give himself a couple of minutes break. "Sloan here… hi, Dad… yeah, I can do that it's not a problem, see you later." As he put the phone down Steve's attention was caught by a picture in a file and he pulled himself back to the task at hand. He hated missing person files; they invariably left him feeling depressed and helpless. Some days he felt that he was doing his job to the best of his ability, and then others, like today, he knew that however hard he worked, however hard they all worked, they would never clear every case, or find every person, return every stolen item, it was unrealistic to believe that they would be in a position to clear all their cases, but when he looked at these folders he felt that they weren't even making a dent in the despair victims of crime felt, three hours, and he still hadn't seen anybody he knew, and he couldn't think of anybody that he hadn't seen or heard of in a while.

By the time he was ready to go home Steve had listed seventy-eight people who could be possible victims of his Mr/Mrs Todd. Steve shuddered, he still couldn't believe that it was a woman cutting pieces off a live victim and then leaving him genitalia in a jar. Steve had photo copied all of the notes on both the drive by and the body parts cases and he planned to drop one set off to Rae and the other was for his dad. With relief he realised that when he arrived home tonight he would have just himself and Jo to worry about until they went to the beach house, and then they could all relax together.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rae had finished making the shepherds pie and had prepared a salad, and then she had sat for a while regaining her strength. Eliana was in her playpen, with her favourite toys around her, and she was happily playing her own little games. Rae could tell that she was getting sleepy and knew that it wouldn't be long before she would curl up and have a nap right there amongst all her things. Rae had placed her hands on her stomach, it was no longer flat, but nobody apart from maybe Jesse and herself, would know that she was pregnant unless she chose to tell them. After about half an hour she picked up the envelope that had caused all the problems that morning, and carefully opened it. She had the process down to a fine art now, and it didn't take her nearly as long as it used to. Inside it were booklets and brochures from The Willows, and after checking to see that Eliana was, as she had thought, fast asleep Rae spent some time making herself comfortable on the sofa and then she began to read.

"Mama, aii." She had been reading for just over an hour when Eliana's voice broke into Rae's thoughts and she looked up to see her little girl peering at her through the bars of her play area.

"Hi, Sweetie, did you have a nice sleep in there?" Rae watched as the little girl picked up a block and threw it out into the room. "No, Honey, don't do that," Rae moved across and picked up the brick and handed it back to her.  "Ta."

"Ah." Eliana picked up the soggy giraffe and it followed the block out of the playpen, but this time instead of throwing it the child pushed it through the bars.

"Ok, I see, this is how it's gonna be is it?" Rae carefully undid one of the pen's side clasps and then another, lowered the bars and sat herself down on the carpet. Her daughter moved across towards her, and Rae smiled as she picked up her giraffe and began to suck on a leg. Then with a loud squeal she threw it with all her might.

After handing the toy back to be thrown again, they enjoyed the game for a while, but then Eliana tired of that and looked round for something else. Rae watched her, and saw her eyes travel around the room looking for anything to play with, there were no longer any ornaments or things of value at Eliana's level, and after a moment or two her eyes returned to her toys and she headed back into the pen. Sitting in the middle of the plastic mat she began to pick up the blocks and throw them once more, and so Rae moved over, slowly picked them all up and once she had sat carefully on the carpet Rae began to build a small tower. For a minute the little girl sat and watched what her mother was doing, but then she moved back onto the carpet herself and with another squeal she knocked the tower to the floor.

Rae laughed, and then she began building the tower up once again, this time she only got to three bricks before it tumbled amid the laughter of them both. The games lasted all afternoon, and the time was special for mother and child, Rae learnt a great deal about her daughter, and the little girl watched and learnt and loved. By the time she was fed up of the game with the blocks Rae could see that she was thinking about trying to stack them herself, although she didn't know how to accomplish it.

Rae had her daughter snuggled up in her arms reading her a story when Jesse arrived home, and for a while he stood in the doorway and listened as she told her about a very hungry caterpillar, and when Rae said that he turned into a beautiful butterfly Jesse heard Eliana squeal with delight and saw Rae tickle her nose. He didn't want to break the spell of the two most precious things in his life sitting there together, but suddenly his daughter saw him, and she broke it for him and made his heart sing at the same time.

"Dada, dada aii!" She began to struggle to get away from Rae's grip and she gently and slowly placed Eliana on the carpet and then smiled as she watched her little pudgy legs crawl across the carpet to her daddy. Jesse bent down and picked her up, swinging her in an arc so that her legs swung free, and she shrieked with laughter.

"Hey, Baby, how are you? Did you miss Daddy?" He pulled her close to him and hugged her tight. For a moment they were as one, and then Eliana began to struggle and she put her hand into his hair and pulled it, hard. "No, Eliana, no. That's naughty." His voice was stern, but he didn't want to spoil the moment, and he found his fingers running up and down her leg and she began to giggle again.

"Jesse, I didn't realise the time, I had better get her bathed and ready for bed. I know Alex will want to see her, but it will be easier to put her down if she is cozy and warm beforehand."

"Ok, you go run it, I'll get her undressed." The two of them went down to the bathroom together, and as the water poured into the bath Rae could hear her husband as he played with Eliana's toes, and carefully took her out of the dungarees and sweater she had on.

Rae put a blue whale into the water and dunked it under the surface. There was a circle on its back with plus and minus signs on it and ok. When she let it bob back to the surface it showed a plus sign so Rae put some more cold in. By the time Jesse came in the whale was ok, and he gently lowered his daughter into the water. She instantly began to splash her feet and then slap her hands on the surface of the water. Her face was alight with pleasure, and she looked round at her parents and laughed.

Rae felt Jesse's hand search out her own, and she grasped it tightly. She looked into his face, and smiled. "Jesse, I'm sorry I frightened you, I didn't mean too, and I was wrong, I should have called. But you over reacted, you have to realise that."

"Rae, I don't want to go through it all again, Alex will be here soon, and now isn't the time, but you are a public figure, whether you like it or not, and, also whether you like it or not, you cannot defend yourself or Eliana right now. If someone decided to take you and Jo today, you couldn't have done anything about it."

"No, Jesse, you're wrong, if someone had tried to take my daughter I would have fought, with everything that I had. I saw her taken from me once… I won't let it happen again." Rae turned away, but not before Jesse saw the tears in her eyes.

"But you don't have the physical strength you used to have, nor the mobility."

"And it wouldn't make any difference. I would still fight. Do you think I would care if it hurt? If Eliana was in danger, the pain wouldn't matter to me."

"Rae, don't let us have to put it to the test, ok? Be careful; stay home unless someone can take you out."

"Someone did take me out, Texas was with me, but that wasn't good enough for you was it?"

"Rae, she is one of the richest Texan's alive, do you think people wouldn't be after her too?"

"Jesse, just leave it, ok? You are getting a serious complex about this. Maybe you should go see Lauren while I'm at The Willows, because you sound to me like you could do with some help." Rae moved her hand out of Jesse's and then carefully knelt down by the tub. She put her right hand in the water and rested the brace covered left arm on the rim and she gently splashed Eliana with the cooling water. "We need to take her out, or she'll get cold, do you want to just give her a quick wash, and I'll go get her some night clothes."

"Yeah, whatever you say." Jesse nodded his head and Rae stood back up. She let out a gasp as the pushing movement caused pain to travel up her right arm, but she wouldn't let Jesse touch her.

With a sigh Jesse washed his daughter. He couldn't understand why Rae seemed so intent on hurting him and once again shutting him out of her life.  "I only want to help Mommy, but she is just so stubborn and so independent, when I first met her I just loved that about her, but now, now it drives me nuts. Honey, I don't want you to be a doormat, but give us guys a bit of a chance, huh?"

"Aii, dada, aii." Eliana smiled up at him, totally besotted and oblivious at the same time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rae had changed her clothes, laid the table and switched the oven on when she heard the ring of the security phone and made her way down the hallway to answer it. "Hello? … Oh, lovely, thank you." She opened the door and watched as Steve's car drew up. Then she smiled as he climbed out of the driver's side, picked up something from the front seat and headed towards her.

"Hey, partner, you look nice, are you going out?"

"No, Alex and Shannon are coming for dinner, which I made all by myself." Rae smiled, she knew it was silly but she was very pleased with her shepherd's pie. They walked into the living room together as they were talking, and as they both sat down on the sofa Steve turned to face her.

"I have some stuff for you, on the drive bys and the body parts case. I know you're heading off to The Willows soon, I hope you'll have time to take it with you and read through it all, let me know what you think. I need your help on these, Rae, please." Rae's face lit up and he knew that he had said the right thing.

"I don't know when I'm going yet, but of course, as long as the Captain doesn't mind." Rae became silent for a moment.

"Rae, he suggested it to me, although I would have done it anyway. Honey, what's the matter, is it what happened this morning?"

"No, no, it's not. Steve, I think I'm gonna have to sue the City; at least I think it's the City, or the prison service, or whatever you call it. I'll need to speak with Mr. Sholte tomorrow. I don't think my insurance will cover the treatment at The Willows, but I know I won't ever get back to work without going there first."

"You have a case, you know that don't you? And it's the Department of Corrections. You should have been on lock down the entire time you were there. You definitely shouldn't have had your meals with the other inmates, and if that hadn't happened you wouldn't have gotten hurt. Also, the guard left you unattended at the hospital, and you were injured there too, I think you have a case in both places."

"Oh, that's just great. I can sue the City, which I happen to work for over one set of injuries, and then the hospital, where my husband happens to work for the other set. How to win friends and influence people."

"Rae, listen, in neither instance is anybody gonna take it personally, and if they do, then it's their problem, but you have to sue. Especially if you are gonna need the money for The Willows." Steve paused for a moment, but then began to speak again. "You know you only have to ask don't you, I realise it's not my money, and I wouldn't presume to spend it, but you're Jo's best friend she would gladly pay for your treatment, you could pay her back later."

"Thank you, Steve; I hope it won't come to that. I think I can pay for some things, some I might get through my insurance provider, but others I definitely can't. Now, let's move into the other room and see what you have here."

Steve had just spread all the information out on the kitchen table when he heard a noise and felt his pants leg being pulled. He looked down to see his goddaughter trying to pull herself to a standing position on his leg. "Hey, Sweetie, how are you?" He went to pick her up but Jesse stopped him.

"Steve, wait, she's never done this before." The three friends watched as the little girl pulled at the material and gradually her legs began to straighten for a moment, she wavered in position and then gravity took over and she landed back on her bottom with a 'phwwwt' as the air was expelled from her diaper. The look of concentration was replaced with one of shock and as she began to cry Steve leant down and placed a hand either side of her and picked her up.

"Hi, Baby, how's my beautiful little goddaughter today then?"

The tears stopped immediately. "Aii, ah." Eliana beamed, obviously delighted with herself.

"Mmm, I guess that means something."

"It means Hi, ta." Rae's smile was almost as big as her daughter's, and she reached out slowly with her right hand and traced a finger down the soft rosy cheek of the little girl.

The security phone rang again and with a smile Jesse left the room and answered it. Steve and Rae heard him open the front door, and a couple of minutes later Alex and Shannon came into the house.

"Hey, Alex, we're in the kitchen." Rae called out to her friend as she heard the footsteps on the floor just outside the door.

Alex came into the room a smile on his face, Hi, Rae, Steve. Hey, Eliana, you are looking fine again." Alex smiled at his goddaughter, and realising that she had yet another audience to impress the little girl bounced up and down in her Uncle Steve's arms and smiled. "Aii, aii, ah."

Steve smiled and translated. "Hi, hi, ta. She's gonna be a professor of languages, no doubt about it."

Rae shook her head, but she was smiling. "No, first female president, or the lady who sells baby clothes in Sears, I don't care, as long as she's happy and works to her potential and is healthy. Anything else she does will be because she wants to do it, not because she has to."

"Yes, Ma'am." Steve smiled at Rae, but he knew what she was saying. His mom and dad had never pushed him, except to do his best at everything, and he knew that she and Jesse would be the same.

"Guys, I'm gonna head off, you have a delicious meal to eat, and I have one of Michael's waiting for me. Rae, I'll be in touch, but if you come up with anything earth shattering let me know, ok?"

"I will, but I'll see you tomorrow anyway." Rae's smile grew a little larger, and she felt Jesse's hand on her shoulder. It didn't hurt and she kept still hoping he would keep it there.

Steve handed Eliana to Alex, put the papers back into the folders and then left them on the kitchen table, he kissed Eliana's cheek, said his goodbyes and left. Rae moved away from Jesse's touch and over to where Shannon was standing quietly just far enough away from Alex not to frighten the little girl.

"I'm sorry, we were rude, I didn't mean to keep you out of the conversation, come and sit down, and Jesse'll get you something to drink." Rae guided the young woman towards the sofa in the lounge as she watched her husband get some glasses.

"We, ah, we bought this for you, and this for Eliana." Shannon had brought a bag into the living room, but it was Alex who spoke.

"Alex you didn't need to bring anything with you. We just wanted to enjoy your company… Oh, my goodness, that is wonderful."

Shannon had pulled a huge brightly coloured octopus out of the bag, and Eliana, in Alex's arms, began to jiggle about. He quickly put her on the floor and then put the toy down in front of her. The eight-legged creature was almost as big as she was when she was in the sitting position, and she launched herself at the toy, hugging it tightly as she did so.

"Oh, Alex, Shannon, what a beautiful thing, thank you." Rae and Jesse both smiled as they watched their daughter who was obviously instantly in love with the present.

"It does have a purpose. Look." Shannon moved over, smiling at Eliana as she did so, but the little girl wasn't looking at her, and so didn't mind her getting close. Alex moved round so that he would be seen by his goddaughter, and then Shannon squeezed one of the tentacles. A musical note filled the air, and Eliana looked round trying to work out where it had come from. "You can, apparently, play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on it, but I don't think you're expected to. We just liked its face."

"I think you have a hit, whatever she decides to do with the legs, and knowing her it will involve sucking them and making them wet. Sweetie, you are gonna have to go to bed in a minute." Jesse began to move the octopus away from his daughter, and her face began to crumple, and then she began to cry. He leant over and picked up the soggy giraffe and the octopus was instantly forgotten as Eliana let go of it and reached up for her favourite toy.

Jesse held the little girl while everybody kissed her goodnight, and then he took her down to the nursery. By the time he returned conversation was light and flowing in the living room, a bottle of red wine was sitting on the table, which Jesse guessed correctly was the other gift from Alex and Shannon, and the buzzer was going off to show that the dinner was ready.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Steve arrived home the house was in semi darkness and he realised that, with his dad already at the beach house, Jo would be in the morning room at the back of the house. As he usually did, Steve let himself in through the laundry room and into the kitchen. There was no note on the counter, and so guessing that he had managed to arrive home before dinner he headed to where he knew Jo would be.

"Hi, Honey, you're just in time, Michael has popped upstairs, but the dinner is almost ready, be about ten minutes."

"I'll just sort these files out and go wash then." Steve kissed Jo gently on the lips, and then he headed for the stairs, once he reached the bedroom he put his work down on the dressing table and for a minute he flopped down on the bed and shut his eyes. He felt better for knowing that both his dad and Rae were going to look over his cases, and he knew that if Rae saw them then Jesse would too, and that his dad would show Amanda. With a sigh he got up and stripping off his clothes decided on a quick shower before dinner.  He was only in there for a couple of minutes before he returned to the bedroom. For a moment he sat on the bed, a contented smile on his face. His workload might be stressful and getting him down, but this was home, and he loved it.