Chapter Sixteen

She had kicked him out. Told him to go home, shower, shave, and grab a bite to eat. Reluctantly he went, but not without a fight. He knew his wife's time was short and he knew that with his help it would be even shorter.

Ed Deline refused to think of himself as a murderer. Sure, he knew that he had killed men when he was in the CIA and even for the first few years after he had gotten out, he had killed some. The men he killed in his life, he masked as government jobs.

But this couldn't be labeled as a government job. How would he do this? What would he say to her? How could he watch his wife die and not do anything to help her because that was what she had asked? And the question that still haunted his mind... How would he explain this to Delinda?

Sighing, the man stepped out of his Hummer and onto the driveway of their home. Ed stopped and looked at the house for a moment. It was a picture of modern architecture accented by curves and lines. The curves were what had Jillian fallen in love with. She loved the arched doorways, the spiral stair case that lead them from the balcony in their bedroom down to the backyard below, the majestic pool that was almost constantly used. She loved how there was so much modernisms to it yet it still felt like home when almost anybody walked through the impressive wrought iron and glass arched doorway.

Ed knew that as soon as he got back from Hawaii this house had to be put on the market.

As he approached the door, he stopped and collected the mail and instead of picking up the newspapers, Ed just kicked them aside with his foot. At this stage, he didn't care what was going on in other parts of the world.

Turning the key, the man stepped inside and set the mail and his keys on the table against the wall.

And then he did it.

Casually, without a thought process, Ed glanced up into the mirror that hung above the table and the reflection startled him. He knew that he was nowhere near being a young man again, but he had always thought that age had been kind to him, that because he was so active that he'd be spared of all the heavy wrinkles that seemed to take a permanent position in elderly men and women alike. Reaching up, he traced a finger over a line in his cheek that he knew wasn't there when he had left for the hospital the previous morning.

Ed sighed deeply in defeat as he headed upstairs to take his shower.

"I'm sorry."

Danny looked at her puzzled. Reaching over, he tucked a lemon lock behind one of her ears. "Sorry for what?"

Delinda sighed as she sipped her coffee. "Breaking down on you like that."

Her companion merely blinked in reply, "Delinda, you've been hit with a ton of bricks today. You are entitled to break down."

She nodded as she again sighed, "Yeah, but I can't do this in front of dad. He's got so much going on right now, he's got a whirlwind of emotions... It wouldn't be right to just flip out."

Danny nodded, gently, "I think that Ed's going to do some flipping out himself one of these days."

Delinda groaned as she laid her head back on the table again. Her father flipping out scared her more than anything on earth.

"Thanks for keeping an eye on her, Mike, I really appreciate it."

Sam walked into the surveillance pit and leaned against a table. Mike stood up and began to collect his things together. "No problem, Sam, thanks for letting me in on what's going on with Ed and Mrs. D."

Sam nodded quietly and sighed, "Mike, FYI... Ed is really broken up. I even saw him cry while I was over there. I haven't been in to see Mrs. Deline yet, but listening to Delinda she seems to be actually doing better than Ed."

Mike nodded quietly, "I just keep remembering the other day when I was flirting with her and teasing Ed. They both just seemed so damn happy and in love, and then they get a cruel twist of fate."

The woman sighed again, "Yeah, I know. Life is really unfair. Anyway, thanks again for keeping an eye on her."

She smiled softly and kissed his cheek and Mike hugged her. "Anytime, Samantha. She's sleeping on Ed's couch right now, I'm going to head over to the hospital. St. Rose, did you say?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah."

"Alright then, I'm on my way."

Sam sighed softly as she watched Mike leave. Walking over to a phone, she picked it up and dialed an extension, "Yeah, Bree, it's Sam Marquez. I need you to go into my office please and bring me my laptop and the files that I have next to it. It's right on my desk. I'm in Mr. Deline's office." Getting the confirmation she needed, Sam hung up and walked into Ed's office and sat down behind his desk and waited for her work to arrive.

He stepped out of the shower and a curtain of steam followed him. Wrapping a towel around his waist, Ed walked over to the sink and quickly brushed his teeth and then did a quick shave. As he headed back into the bedroom, he saw a picture of them on the dresser, wrapped in each other's arms. Ed grabbed it and walked over and sat down on the bed, his eyes fixed on the photograph.

He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat and sighed. Tracing her jaw line with his finger, he quietly whispered, "I'm going to make it as painless as I can, baby... I promise. I won't allow you to go through that agony."

Setting the picture on the bed, Ed stood up and went to his dresser and pulled out some jeans and a t-shirt and a few other items. Dressing rapidly, Ed ran a comb through his hair and headed down to his office in the house.

As he made his way downstairs, he decided to make a detour into the kitchen. Ed sighed as he saw the blinking light on the answering machine, indicating new messages. He hit the button and went to the refrigerator.

"Hi, Jillian, it's Marian. Just wanted to remind you about our Tuesday at the spa. Talk to you later, hon."

Ed sighed as he shook his head and added one more thing on his to do list... call Jillian's friends.

"Edward, it's your mother. Call me honey, I love you."

Rolling his eyes, Ed took out a jar of miracle whip and some turkey, muttering softly, "Sure, Mom, I'll get right on that."

"Good morning, Mr. Deline, this is Cynthia over at Rainbow Travel. I just wanted to call and get in touch with you to confirm your plane reservations for Maui in three weeks. I've taken the liberty to make a collection of a few Hawaiian hotels and you can come in and look through them when you sign for the tickets. Aloha."

He set the jar down on the island and put his elbows on the tiled counter, resting his head in his hands and sighing deeply. He had planned on surprising Jillian with the Hawaii trip long before they found out about the cancer. He quickly stood up and made his sandwich and went into his office and booted up his computer.

As Ed waited, he pulled out the phone book and got some names and numbers of local realtors. He didn't want to stay in the house any longer than he had to. He'd stay there while Jillian was alive, but after the funeral, he knew he wouldn't be able to come back to this place and call it home.

Ed glanced over and saw his desktop and went over and immediately connected to the internet. After going to the google web page, Ed typed "assisted suicide" in the box and hit enter. He was taken aback by all the hits, whispering softly, "390,000 sites... good God..." Sighing deeply he began to click links.

Skimming pages on Euthanasia, withholding life saving medications and terminal sedation, Ed found a site that piqued his interest. Ed quickly started to print the document out, but as soon as it started to print something happened with the printer.

"Oh no, no no no..." he said quietly. Trying to gently pull the jammed paper from the printer but to no avail. "Damn it!" He quickly reached for the pad and pen and jotted the address down and jumped up and headed out of the house and got into his car and raced for the Montecito.

"Sam, here are the things you asked for."

Samantha stood up and smiled, "Thanks, Bree, I appreciate it." She walked over and took her laptop and files from the woman's arms.

"Sam, can I ask you why you are working in Mr. Deline's office?"

Samantha Jane glanced at the pretty redhead as she plugged her laptop into an outlet for internet connection. "Jasmine is sleeping on Ed's couch and I don't want to wake her, nor do I want to leave her."

Bree nodded, "Still no luck finding the Clines?"

The news of the guests abandoning their daughter traveled quickly through the resort. People that Sam had never met had started to come up to her offering advice, assistance and support to her. The brunette sighed deeply and shook her head, "No, but I'm going to take care of her myself."

The redhead smiled softly, "I think that's great, Sam. Good luck with that."

Sam glanced up and smiled as she saw the woman leave. Once she was alone, she went in and glanced in Ed's office and found Jasmine sleeping soundly on the floor, surrounded by Ed's magazines. Rolling her eyes and sighing softly, Samantha collected the magazines and arranged them in monthly order and set them back on Ed's bookshelf and reached down to pick the girl up. Laying her gently on the couch, Sam brought the blanket up and covered her up, kissed her cheek and headed back out into the surveillance room to work.

"Sam?"

Sam glanced up and saw Ed standing in the doorway, questions in his eyes. Standing up, she gave him a soft smile, "Hey, Ed. You are probably wondering why I'm up here."

Ed nodded as he walked further in, "Yeah."

She sighed quietly as she bit her bottom lip, "Mike was watching Jasmine for me while I was at the hospital and he laid her down for a nap on the couch in your office. If you'd like, I can move her though."

Ed shook his head as he waved a hand through the air, "Let the kid sleep, I don't care."

Walking closer to him, Sam watched him, "Are you sure?"

He nodded and sat down in a chair. "Yeah."

Sam walked over and sat down next to him and just sat by him a few minutes. His voice soon broke through the air, "Jillian said a lot of things to me this afternoon and I'm trying to wrap my brain around them."

The woman nodded quietly, allowing him to continue. Without thinking, Ed reached for her hand. "She said she wants me to fall in love again and get married once she dies. Said she liked you and knows that you and I are friends."

Samantha chewed her bottom lip quietly, her dark eyes were fixed on their hands. It wasn't the first time he held hands with other women. She'd see him holding hands with Mary and Nessa before and once during a drunken game of spin the bottle, Mary spinned it and it landed before Ed and so they had to kiss. But this time it was different. There was a warmth in his hand.

Nodding, Sam shrugged and gave him a soft smile, "You are a good man, Ed. You don't deserve the hand you've been dealt."

Ed couldn't help but grin a little, "Nice casino reference."

Samantha Jane laughed softly, "I didn't even realize there was one there, but I guess it makes sense since I do work in a casino."

Ed smiled quietly as he dropped her hand. "You left the hospital so fast, I didn't even realize you had left."

The woman shrugged a little, "You needed to be with her and you didn't need me hanging around bugging you. Besides, I wanted to get back to Jasmine."

"You don't bug me, Sam."

Sam laughed quietly, "Now you are just being sweet."

Ed opened his mouth to say something when Jasmine stumbled out into the room, "Sam?"

Samantha smiled brightly as she walked over and picked her up and hugged her, "Hey honey. Did you have a nice nap?"

Jasmine nodded and looked at Ed, "Who is that?"

Ed's brows arched and he made a funny face at her causing the girl to giggle. Sam laughed softly, "That's Mr. Deline."

"Oh for the love of Pete, Sam, don't saddle her with having to be so formal." Ed stood up and walked over to the little girl, "You can call me Ed."

The little girl smiled and nodded, "Are you Sam's boyfriend?"

Both Ed and Samantha laughed hard. Ed sat down in the couch, his head in his hands, laughing so hard that he was shaking. Samantha Jane was the first to regain her composure, "No, sweetie, Ed isn't my boyfriend. He's my boss and a very good friend."

"Oh..." the little girl said. Ed was still wiping his eyes as he stood up and walked over to a mini fridge. Ed spotted a small chocolate pudding cup and took it out. He glanced around and found a plastic spoon and walked over to the girl, grinning a little, "Want to share some pudding?"

Jasmine nodded in excitement and Ed glanced over at Sam and gave her the same grin, "What about you, Mommie Dearest? Want some pudding?"

Samantha laughed, "Only if you stop with the Joan Crawford references."

Laughing, Ed peeled off the foil lid and nodded. "You bet." Ed spooned the pudding off the lid and handed the spoon to Jasmine. She took it eagerly and brought it to her mouth, getting some of the pudding on her face. Samantha laughed as she reached for a napkin and cleaned her face off. Ed shook his head, "How about you let us help you?"

Jasmine giggled and nodded and for about ten minutes the three of them fed pudding to each other and laughed and it was the first time that Ed was able to think about something other than the state of his wife.