Chapter 15

[A/N: Love to all my reviewers, you guys keep me sane and motivated to add the next chapter. This week's been kind of odd. I've been basically updating in between dance and school and have been able to write one short story (Duct Tape and Strawberry Shampoo), start another novel length story (The Fall), and update this story, which I'm doing write now. I can't guarantee the updates will be so great, because this week was the first week of school and I'm loaded with homework, but I definitely will try to pop out one to two chapters a week depending on how much I can fit into my schedule. Enjoy, and thanks again. 3 Mari]

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"I'm Harvey Spataro, and we can explain everything."

If three NYPD cops hadn't been standing in his living room, Mark would probably have laughed at the general weirdness of the situation.

"Well, I think you better, because I have no idea what's going on," Mark stated abruptly. Roger stood with his arms across his chest, and to them, apparently it looked menacing, because Harvey took a few steps back and so did Natalie. Roger realized that he remember Harvey from somewhere, but couldn't place the name with the face.

"Alright Mr. Spataro, what exactly is the issue?"

"Roger, baby? What's going on?" Mimi asked, coming up behind him. Roger extended his hand, and Mimi took it, resting her head against his chest.

"And you are?" Another cop addressed her.

"Mimi Marquez. His girlfriend and his roommate," she said nonchalantly, wagging a finger between the two of them.

"Can somebody tell me what's going on? Is Jackie okay?" Mark asked, raising his voice.

"Jacqueline and Joshua had been dating on and off for two years prior to today. Jackie broke it off, because she caught Josh cheating on her last October. Ever since then, he's been really pissed at her and keeps harassing her—at dance, at work, even when she's hanging out with Natalie and myself—" Harvey cut Mark off and started to explain.

"And you are both professional ballet dancers, I'm assuming?" the officer asked, scribbling down a few notes on his pad. The other two were intently listening in the background.

"Yeah, you could say that. Anyway, Jackie filed a restraining order for a month at the end of October, and he kept his distance. She didn't start hearing from him again until around Christmas, and this time he started threatening her—phone calls, after work, telling her that she would "pay" for what she did to him, which was nothing. He did it all. Stupidly enough, she went back to him a few times, and he landed her in the hospital a few more, injuries that she would play off as accidents. Since she's a dancer, it was kind of hard not to notice her coming to rehearsal or class every other week with a new bruise, or tape wrapped around her ankle. I was leaving my job today, and I had to take the subway, so I stopped at her normal stop and noticed Josh and a bunch of his friends behind the subway stairs, so I went over just to see what they were up to. The minute he mentioned Jackie, I knew she was in trouble, so I called her on her cell phone and told her not to get off at her normal stop because they were waiting for her. She told me to meet her here, and I brought Natalie along, because I didn't want Josh and his gang to end up at her apartment with any crazy ideas in their heads," Harvey finished quietly, wrapping his arm around Natalie's waist.

"And you two are involved?" he asked, pointing to Harvey and Natalie

"Engaged, actually."

"Mmhmm." The officer mumbled a bit to his coworkers and took a few more notes. "Well…"

"Well what?" Mark practically shouted.

"Until Jackie gets here, we can't do much of anything. When she does, however, we'll ask her a few questions and look up her restraining order on file. We'll set up a hearing within the next few weeks for a court appointed restraining order from the city. Until then, we can either send a patrol car out to be at the location that Miss Farrell finds herself at daily, or we can instruct you to a bodyguard…"

Roger practically snorted, but Mark glared at him and he stopped.

"A bodyguard? Isn't that a little extreme?" Roger asked.

"We take domestic cases in the city very seriously, young man," The officer said sharply. Just as Roger was about to say something back, the loft door creaked open and Jackie appeared, brushing snow out of her hair.

"I'm so sorry about this," she automatically said, rushing over to Mark. He just blinked and nodded.

"You, I presume, are Miss Jacqueline Farrell?"

"Yeah, that's me." The officer then rattled off everything Harvey had just told them all and had Jackie verify it, which she did.

"Anything else I should add before I send this report in downtown?"

"Yeah. Um, today in work I got a phone call from him, saying that I would pay and so would my friends. It really weirded me out, and I tried to have the operator track it, but she said it came from a pay phone."

"Okay. It would be advisable to place a phone tap on your home, work, and possibly this line, in case he ever scrounged up the number somehow. Until then, I insist that you stay with someone instead of living alone until the restraining order is placed again. Any questions?"

"No, thank you," she said. He then nodded and motioned for the two others to follow. "Any problems, don't hesitate to call. We'll post his name and information and keep a lookout."

After the officers left, everyone just stood silently, not moving.

"Well, I guess we better get going," Harvey said quickly.

"Yeah. But thank you," she said, giving him and Natalie a hug before opening the door for them.

"I guess I better tell the guys that tonight's off," Roger added, reaching over for the phone. Mark stood facing her and sighed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. Jackie shrugged and walked over to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I just, didn't want you to worry."

"Worry? Not only do I want to kill this bastard, I can't believe something like this could happen to you," he added. "You know I'm not like him, right? I would never hurt you."

"Yeah, I know. I don't know. I'm sorry," she said in frustration. Mark wrapped his arms around her and she placed her arms around his back.

"Just next time, tell me okay? At least I know what was bothering you before," he joked. Jackie nodded. "You can stay here as long as you want."

"Thank you. I guess I'll go get my stuff tomorrow. I don't feel much like going out," she finished.

"That's fine. Are you hungry? We could order in if you want," Mark suggested.

"Okay. That sounds great." Roger and Mimi were already back in their bedroom, so Mark knocked before barging in.

"We're getting Chinese. What do you want?"

"Shrimp Lo Mein, Pork Fried Rice, and an Egg Roll," Mimi blurted out, before Roger could say anything.

"Yeah…I'll have what she's having," Roger laughed, eyeing her weirdly. Mimi shrugged and curled back up on the bed.

"What do you want?" Jackie was sitting on the couch and Mark came up behind her, kissing her on top of her head.

"Um, Egg Drop Soup with the noodles and an egg roll," she said, tilting her head back to kiss him on the lips.

"Okay." Mark ordered the food, coming back a few minutes later. Jackie was watching the 6 o'clock news, and Roger and Mimi were still in Roger's room.

"It's supposed to storm tonight," Jackie said quietly.

"Yeah, how much?"

"Some kind of blizzard or something. We're supposed to get anywhere from 12-24 inches. It was already snowing when I got here."  Mark walked over to the window and glanced out. About two inches had already piled up on the sidewalks.

"I'm gonna go look for some extra blankets and candles. We've learned not to trust the power and heating around here too much," he laughed.

"Need some help?" Jackie asked, coming up behind him.

"If you want." Mark entered the spare bedroom and flicked on the light, making his way over to the dresser. He pawed through the first two top drawers, and when he didn't find anything he made his way to the bottom. "Look through the top box of the closet, there might be some candles in there."

Jackie pulled out a few candles and took them into the living room with her, setting them on the table as Mark followed with extra blankets.

"Looks like we're in for a long night," he joked.

"Shit, I just realized something," Jackie laughed.

"What?"

"That if it storms I'm gonna be trapped here without my clothes and all my other crap. I'm gonna run out really quick—"

"By yourself?"

"Yeah, that's the general idea," she smiled, pulling her leather jacket on.

"I'm coming with you," Mark stated, grabbing his coat from the closet.

"Whatever you say," she laughed, latching onto his hand and pulling him out the door with her.

"Roger we're going out!"

"What about the food?!"

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"They left us without any food," Roger whined, lying back down on the bed again. Mimi shrugged and grabbed her brush from the nightstand and pulled it through her curls.

"There's money on the counter. The food guy should be here soon anyway," she added, flipping her head over and piling her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head. "Ouch."

"You okay?" Roger asked. He was shuffling around through a bunch of papers on the dresser but looked over, glancing at her curiously.

"I'm fine. My stomach just feels kind of weird. Maybe it's just heartburn," she shrugged.

"Are you sure?"

"I guess. Your mom called before."

"When?" he asked. He didn't remember hearing the phone ring.

"Well actually it was more of your sister calling. She said she wants your help moving into her new apartment next week and she'd call you again later."

"Great. Did she have a record setting conversation with you?" he asked, strumming a few chord on his Fender before putting it down again.

"We just talked for a few minutes. It's not a big deal. I'd be happy to have family that cared about me," Mimi said quietly.

"It's not like I don't care about them, I just choose to not have them too involved," he added matter of factly.

"Whatever you say Roger." Mimi stood up and walked into the other room. Roger sighed and stood up, following her out of the room.

"Okay, what gives? What did I do to piss you off this time?" he asked.

"Nothing. Forget it."

"Mimi." Roger ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "What's wrong?"

"I said nothing." She turned away from him and walked over to the window, blowing on it a little bit. "I used to love the snow."

"So did I. Now I just see as an inconvenience," Roger joked.

"What do you want to name the baby Roger?" Mimi questioned, adjusting the heater to put it up as high as it could. Roger shrugged—he hadn't really thought about that. At all.

"Well what were you thinking of?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I don't know. Something different, creative maybe."

"How about Roger junior for a boy…and Rogette for a girl," he teased. Mimi playfully smacked his arm and giggled.

"Yeah, great so the kid will be traumatized for the rest of it's life. Rogette. You wish," she laughed.

"We could go with Jason for a boy. Or maybe Jay. Jaden. Jake."

"You like J huh? I like Jay," Roger added. "What about a girl?"

"Alicia? Alyssa? Hmm, Alena?" she said, running a few other names off as well.

"What about Jaylynn?" Roger blurted out. Mimi paused and thought about if for a few seconds. "So it would be a combination of names."

"That's pretty. It's original too."

"Yeah. It could be J-a-e-l-y-n, or-J-a-y-l-y-n, J-a-y-l-y-n-n, J-a-y-l-y-n-n-e…"

"Davis can spell. Congratulations," she teased.

"Hah, you're funny. If you weren't so cute I think I'd be mad at you."

"Oh, so now I'm cute, huh? Does that mean are kid's gonna be cute too?" she laughed.

"If it takes after me it will be…" Roger joked.

"I don't think your ego needs anymore inflating."

"Yeah, probably not. Shit, it's almost 7. I gotta get to work. What's taking the Chinese food guy so long?"

"I don't know. I'm not even that hungry anymore." Mimi took a seat on the couch and pulled the blanket up with her, curling into a ball on the pillow.

Roger retrieved his leather jacket from the closet and put it on. He walked over and kissed her and took one last look out the window. "Looks like it's getting pretty nasty out there," he added.

"Just be careful, and come home if it gets any worse."

"I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled before he closed the door behind himself.

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Jackie and Mark reentered the loft twenty minutes later to find Mimi fast asleep on the couch, remote in her hand.

"Shh. She's out cold," Jackie whispered as the lights flickered. "What the hell?"

"Fuck. It does that a lot, especially when the snow piles up on the lines," Mark said, walking over to the heater and trying to turn it up before realizing it was up as far as it could go.

"Did the food guy ever come?"

"Nah. Figures, they refuse to come out unless it's 90 degree blue sky weather," he joked. "God it's freezing in here."

"Maybe we should light some of those candles. Got any matches?" Jackie asked.

"Yeah. Bottom drawer next to the sink."

Jackie returned momentarily with a book of matches and proceeded to light the five candles before scattering them around the room in different places. "There." The lights flickered one more time, before completely going out.

"Wow. Good timing," Mark laughed.

"Yeah, you could say that again," Jackie answered, before picking up a candle. "I'm gonna go lay down in your room if that's okay. Come with me?"

"Of course," Mark said, following her into the bedroom and shutting the door.

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"Hey Davis!" Roger looked up from wiping down the bar and grinned.

"What's up Wes?"

"Nothing. What's with you canceling on us tonight?" he laughed, taking a seat on a barstool.

"Mimi wasn't feeling that great," Roger lied.

"Oh, alright. What time you getting off tonight?" Wes asked, tapping his finger on the bar.

"11, Mike's closing up early because of the storm. Why?"

"You up for a night with the boys?" Wes smirked. "We're probably gonna go just chill at my place, as long as we're not too loud, because Lori would kick my ass if I woke up the baby."

"I don't know. Mimi might want me to stay home," Roger said hesitantly.

"Yeah, but she's got Mark, right? C'mon, it's only for a few hours."

"Yeah, yeah okay. I guess."

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Jackie yawned and stretched out on Mark's chest, blindly searching for her shirt in the dark. "What time is it?"

"Around 11:30. We've been asleep for about four hours," Mark added, handing her his shirt instead. "Here. We'll find it later."

"Thanks," she replied, kissing him before she stood up. "I didn't mean to sleep that long," she laughed.

"I think we kind of wore each other out, if you know what I mean," he winked, pulling her back down on the bed with him.

"Mark, I need a shower…" Jackie complained. Mark started to pout and she kissed him and pinched his cheeks. "If my cell rings, can you pick it up for me?"

"Yeah sure. Towels are in there," he added, pointing towards the bathroom closet while pulling her cell phone out of her purse. He heard the shower running and Jackie softly singing to herself and smiled. He stood up and headed towards the living room, where he found Mimi propped up on the couch, a washcloth over her stomach.

"Hey Marky," she smiled, watching the commercials on the TV.

"Hey. You okay there?" he asked, pointing to her stomach.

"Yeah, my muscles are kind of sore. The doctor says that when your uterus gets bigger your muscles stretch and that I'll be sore for a little bit until my body gets use to it. Kind of common sense if you think about it," she replied.

"Glad I don't have one of those."

"Believe me, you're lucky."

"Have you and Roger decided on names yet?" he asked, grabbing the remote and flipping through channels.

"Kind of. He likes Jaylynn for a girl, but I was thinking about Trent for a boy. I don't know. We have a ways to go yet," she said.

"That's true. You're still fighting over paint colors, last I heard." Jackie's phone started ringing, and he reached over to pick it up.

"Hello?"

"Hi, uh Mark? Is Jackie there?"

"Yeah, but she's in the shower. Who's this?"

"Harvey. Can I talk to her? It's important."

"Yeah…let me go see if she's out yet." Mark stood up and knocked on the bathroom door to find Jackie bent over the sink, towel wrapped around her body and running a brush through her bleach blonde hair.

"Water ran out. At least the power's back on," she laughed.

"It has a tendency to do that. Harvey's on the phone for you," Mark stated, handing it to her.

"Okay, thanks." Jackie reached over to take the phone from him.

"Hello? Harvey calm down. Okay, what happened? I can't understand you; you're talking too fast. Oh god, I'll be right there." Jackie skidded into Mark as she left the bathroom.

"Jac? What's wrong?" Mark asked, grabbing her shoulders.

"I don't…Natalie…Natalie's in the hospital. Harvey…he said that they took his car out for a ten-minute drive to make sure that the engine wasn't frozen because of the weather, you know in case they ever needed it during the storm. He said that he hit an ice patch and couldn't turn in time and an SUV hit the passenger side head on…"Jackie trailed off.

"Oh my god," Mimi said, standing up and walking over to them.

"I don't believe this," Jackie said. "Mark I gotta go. I have to." Jackie didn't wait for an answer and threw on his shirt and her jeans and practically ran out the door.

"Okay, calm down. We'll take the subway. What hospital?"

"NYU. They should still be running, there's only about six inches of snow on the ground," she added frantically, grabbing her jacket and running down the stairs.

"I'm coming with you," Mimi shouted, grabbing her own coat and closing the loft door after Mark who was trying to catch up with Jackie.

"Should we leave a note for Roger?" Mark shouted back at her.

"Forget it. There's no time."

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Mark spent the whole subway ride attempting to calm Jackie down, who was sobbing hysterically. Mimi was silent, partly because she hated hospitals and hated to see people suffer. She just held Jackie's hand and rubbed it back in forth the whole time while Jackie rested her head in Mark's lap.

Jackie could barely gather enough courage as she entered the NYU emergency room. Her stomach felt empty, but yet at the same time she felt as if she were going to throw up all of last week's meals. Mark had his arm firmly wrapped around her shoulder, and before she could walk to the admit desk, she saw Harvey hobbling down the hall on his crutches, his head bandaged. One look at him caused her to burst into tears at him.

"Is she okay? Are you okay?" Jackie cried, hugging him.

"I don't know Jac. God I wish I knew. She's awake and she's been asking for you for the last twenty minutes. They don't know how long she's gonna hold on for. It's pretty bad. They only told me that the impact damaged a few of her internal organs and that she's got massive internal bleeding. I'm so scared Jac," Harvey whispered. "I can't lose her. Not like I lost April."

Mark shot his head up at the mention of an April.

"I'm gonna go and see her, okay? Just don't go anywhere." Jackie said, giving him a final hug before following Harvey down the hall.

"Did he just say April?" Mimi asked, removing her coat and taking a seat.

"Yeah. I don't know. There's lots of April's in New York, right?" Mark shrugged. "I feel so horrible about everything. Why does the bad shit always happen to the good people?"

"I don't know Mark. I don't know."

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Jackie clutched the doorknob and pushed it open silently, the bright hall lights illuminating the dim room. She could make out Natalie's form in the hospital bed, various machines hooked up to her. She looked so fragile, completely lost.

"Nat?"

"Jackie? Is that you?" she croaked, trying to move her head a bit in Jackie's direction. "If you didn't come I would have kicked your ass."

"Yeah. You're gonna make it Nat. You're a fighter." Jackie wiped a tear from her eye and sat down on the edge of Natalie's bed. Her head was bandaged just like Harvey's, and her arm was in a splint. She could make out various bruises up and down her arms and could only imagine how bad they could be on her torso.

"You always were a bad liar."

"I'm not lying. You are. You're gonna get better, and you're gonna dance in front of thousands of people. You remember when I first met you? We got into such a bad fight, and I told you that your feet were terrible and that you had the shittiest turnout I had ever seen," Jackie whispered, trying to keep Natalie awake.

"Oh yeah. Then I told you to stick it where the sun don't shine. We both laughed and we've been friends ever since." Natalie closed her eyes briefly and inhaled. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"That I won't make it to see your wedding, or your first baby. That I won't be able to hug you after your first performance of Romeo and Juliet. I won't be able to grow old with you and we won't be able to have our own dance school like we promised each other," Natalie said, wincing slightly.

"Natalie…" Jackie trailed off, the tears flowing freely now.

"Stop it Jackie. I'm dying, I know that. The doctors know that, but they won't come out and say it. I knew that when that car hit me that this was the end and I've gotta face it."

"I'm gonna miss you so much," Jackie whispered, wrapping her arms around Natalie's shoulders gently.

"I'm gonna miss you more than you'll ever know. What am I gonna do without my Jac huh? They never told you the price you pay, for things that you might have done…"

"Only the good die young," Jackie added.

"Yeah. I'm so sleepy. I think they drugged me too much," Natalie added, trying to laugh.

"They don't want you to feel any pain."

"I know, but I still do. Right here," she added, resting her hand to her chest.

Jackie was openly sobbing by now, although she was trying to hide it. She wanted to be strong for Natalie, but she couldn't, no matter how much she tried.

"Hey. Stop that," Natalie said slowly. "Promise me something?"

"Anything."

"You keep my pointe shoes. I know they're your size. When they wear out, you keep them. This way I'll know I'll always be dancing in your heart. Come here," she added, patting the space next to her on the bed. Jackie sighed and rested her head lightly on Jackie's shoulder.

"I don't want you to go. Don't go Nat. I need you here with me."

"You have Mark. I know a keeper when I see one. You hang onto him. He's falling in love with you," she said quietly, sharply inhaling a breath. "Goddamn that hurt."

"But I need you. You were the first person I met when I came to the States. Who do I have now?"

"Mark. His friends. Harvey. You take care of Harvey for me okay? I love you both so much."

"This isn't fair. Why you Natalie? You never did anything wrong!"

"I know babe. I know."

"I don't know how to say goodbye to you…" Jackie trailed off, wiping her eyes again.

"I'll always be with you. Forever. You keep dancing, you here me? Don't you fucking give up anything because of me. Nothing. Not a thing. You stay away from Josh, okay?"

"I will. I promise."

The room was silent for the next few minutes, and Harvey poked his head in.

"Hey," he said shakily, coming to sit on the other side of Natalie.

"Hi sweetheart," she responded, resting her head on Harvey's shoulder. Jackie smiled bravely at Harvey and noticed that he too was trying to fight back tears.

"You're comfortable, right? I mean, if there's anything…"

"Shh. I'm fine," she tried to smile, kissing him gently. "Hey Jac, try to lighten the mood a little bit. You're forever humming that Beatles song, so could you sing it maybe? For me?"

"Yeah…"

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There are places I remember, all my life,
Though some have changed
 Some forever, not for better
Some have gone and some remain.
All these places have their moments
Of lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I loved them all.
And with all these friends and lovers
There is no one that compares with you
And these memories lose their meaning
When I think of love as something new
And I know I will never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them.
In my life I loved you more…
 
And I know I will never lose affection
For people and things that went before
I know I'll often stop and think about them.
In my life I loved you more
In my life I loved you more…
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[A/N: Jeez, that was sad. ..I'm sorry guys. Anyway, I know it might seem kind of odd and rushed, but there's a reason behind everything in the story, including Lisa's disappearance (haven't forgotten about her either).

Coming up: Jackie disappears, and Lisa reappears. Thanks for all the reviews. :)