Disclaimer- I do not own the characters of Jesse Travis, Mark Sloan, Amanda
Bentley, Steve Sloan, or any other character that may appear on the CBS
television series, Diagnosis Murder. Teresa Chingas is a character created
by Lee Goldberg of his Diagnosis Murder books, which I highly recommend.
Kaitlin Everling, Jenny Everling, and Frank Krumble were made up entirely
by me. Also, because I have only been in L.A. for two layovers in LAX, I
have no clue whether or not there is a restaurant in Malibu called
Kramer's. I just needed a name, and Seinfeld happened to be on.
Back From The Past
Chapter 2- Questions and Answers
The next day Amanda was standing over the corpse of Frank Krumble. He was a victim of a four car pile up on the freeway. As Amanda tried to assess the cause of death, Jesse pressed her for her opinion of Kaitlin, until Amanda sent him out of the pathology lab. He went to find Mark. He wanted more than "She's-a-very-nice-girl-now-get-out-of-my-path-lab-before- you-become-the-cadaver."
"Thank you, Nurse Chingas, just administer those antibiotics, and that will be all," Mark said to the nurse who had been assisting him in trauma two. "Hi, Jesse," he said cheerfully.
"Hey Mark. So what did you think of Kaitlin?" Jesse said.
"Very smooth, Jesse, very smooth," Mark said with a chuckle. "I thought she was a very nice girl. I hope I can help her find her father. If you two come over for dinner, I'll pick up some ribs, and we can go over those letters she was talking about, see if we can find any more clues."
"Could this be important?" Kaitlin said, pointing to one of the letters. "'Kaitlin's father is my boyfriend's best friend. I don't understand why you keep this secret. He's really a great guy, very loyal. I hate standing beside him knowing your secret, and not being able to tell him. I wish you would just tell him the truth.'" Mark took the letter and read the words for himself.
"What's the date on that one?" Jesse asked.
"March 15, 1999," Mark read.
"Well, this one is from the following October. 'I can't stand this anymore. I am leaving L.A., maybe for good. I'll send you my mailing address as soon as I get one. Love, Your Sister.'"
"They never signed their names, only 'your sister'," Kaitlin noted, pulling a loose strand of hair out of her face. "That's very frustrating sometimes."
"They must have a pretty strong bond," Mark said.
"Very strong. My aunt is always visiting us. She even invited me to spend next weekend with her. If I'm lucky, maybe I can coax some more clues out of her."
The three continued reading the letters until Steve got home.
"Did you come up with anything?" he asked.
"No more than Kaitlin's already told us," Mark said. "Did you talk to Ellen?"
"Yeah, she called me at BBQ Bob's," Steve said. "After a week, her family is starting to drive her nuts. She can't wait to get back."
"When's her flight?" Jesse asked.
"Monday night."
"Ellen is Steve's fiancé," Jesse explained.
"Do you mean Ellen Sharp, the reporter who uncovered the Earthonomist leader, Robert Stafford, the murderer?" Kaitlin asked. "I read all about it in a national paper."
"Yes, that's her," Mark said with a laugh. Kaitlin went back to her letter, but yawned before she had read two words.
"It's eleven o'clock. Maybe you guys should give it a rest for the night," Steve suggested.
"That's a good idea. Let's meet at the hospital in the morning," Mark said, gathering the letters together for Kaitlin.
"Thank you for your help, Dr. Sloan. I really appreciate it," she said, kissing the doctor on the cheek. Jesse got his keys and drove her home.
Kaitlin did not show up at Community General the next morning. During his break, Jesse went to her apartment check on her, but no one answered the bell. After knocking a couple of times, Jesse tried the doorknob, and it was unlocked.
"Kaitlin?" he called, stepping out of the hallway. She met him in the doorway, tears in her eyes.
"Jesse, this is my aunt. She flew in to tell me," she began, but her voice broke, "My mom died. But she knows who my father is." Jesse's breath stuck in his throat. He was standing face to face with Susan Hilliard, his ex-girlfriend, who had run away to Oregon.
"Jesse," she said quietly. Susan looked at her niece, Jesse looked at Susan, and Kaitlin looked at the floor.
"So I'm your aunt's ex-boyfriend. And one of my friends is your father." Jesse said to fill the awkward silence.
"My sister, Jenny, is seven years older than me. When I was in high school, she moved to Wisconsin. I found out a few months later that she was pregnant. I knew Kaitlin very well because I visited her and Jenny a lot when she was a little girl.
"Anyway, I became a nurse, and I was happy here at Community General. And I was really in love with you, Jesse. But I was talking to my sister one day, and that's when I found out who Kaitlin's father is. Jenny didn't mean to tell me, it just kind of slipped."
"I still don't understand why you left," Jesse said, not trying to disguise the hurt in his voice. "I just couldn't deal with the secret," Susan explained, "I knew that eventually I would end up telling Steve if I stayed here. So for my sister's sake, I went to Oregon."
"Steve?" Jesse asked.
"Yes," Susan answered, "Steve is her father. I don't know if he even knew my sister was pregnant. She just left town one day. I figured that she was running from something, especially when she changed her last name from Hilliard to Everling.
"Jenny's car was hit by a bus yesterday and she was killed instantly," Susan said, her eyes tearing. "I promised her once that if anything ever happened to her I would watch over Kaitlin. And that's what I'm doing. I think right now, she needs the love of her father."
Back From The Past
Chapter 2- Questions and Answers
The next day Amanda was standing over the corpse of Frank Krumble. He was a victim of a four car pile up on the freeway. As Amanda tried to assess the cause of death, Jesse pressed her for her opinion of Kaitlin, until Amanda sent him out of the pathology lab. He went to find Mark. He wanted more than "She's-a-very-nice-girl-now-get-out-of-my-path-lab-before- you-become-the-cadaver."
"Thank you, Nurse Chingas, just administer those antibiotics, and that will be all," Mark said to the nurse who had been assisting him in trauma two. "Hi, Jesse," he said cheerfully.
"Hey Mark. So what did you think of Kaitlin?" Jesse said.
"Very smooth, Jesse, very smooth," Mark said with a chuckle. "I thought she was a very nice girl. I hope I can help her find her father. If you two come over for dinner, I'll pick up some ribs, and we can go over those letters she was talking about, see if we can find any more clues."
"Could this be important?" Kaitlin said, pointing to one of the letters. "'Kaitlin's father is my boyfriend's best friend. I don't understand why you keep this secret. He's really a great guy, very loyal. I hate standing beside him knowing your secret, and not being able to tell him. I wish you would just tell him the truth.'" Mark took the letter and read the words for himself.
"What's the date on that one?" Jesse asked.
"March 15, 1999," Mark read.
"Well, this one is from the following October. 'I can't stand this anymore. I am leaving L.A., maybe for good. I'll send you my mailing address as soon as I get one. Love, Your Sister.'"
"They never signed their names, only 'your sister'," Kaitlin noted, pulling a loose strand of hair out of her face. "That's very frustrating sometimes."
"They must have a pretty strong bond," Mark said.
"Very strong. My aunt is always visiting us. She even invited me to spend next weekend with her. If I'm lucky, maybe I can coax some more clues out of her."
The three continued reading the letters until Steve got home.
"Did you come up with anything?" he asked.
"No more than Kaitlin's already told us," Mark said. "Did you talk to Ellen?"
"Yeah, she called me at BBQ Bob's," Steve said. "After a week, her family is starting to drive her nuts. She can't wait to get back."
"When's her flight?" Jesse asked.
"Monday night."
"Ellen is Steve's fiancé," Jesse explained.
"Do you mean Ellen Sharp, the reporter who uncovered the Earthonomist leader, Robert Stafford, the murderer?" Kaitlin asked. "I read all about it in a national paper."
"Yes, that's her," Mark said with a laugh. Kaitlin went back to her letter, but yawned before she had read two words.
"It's eleven o'clock. Maybe you guys should give it a rest for the night," Steve suggested.
"That's a good idea. Let's meet at the hospital in the morning," Mark said, gathering the letters together for Kaitlin.
"Thank you for your help, Dr. Sloan. I really appreciate it," she said, kissing the doctor on the cheek. Jesse got his keys and drove her home.
Kaitlin did not show up at Community General the next morning. During his break, Jesse went to her apartment check on her, but no one answered the bell. After knocking a couple of times, Jesse tried the doorknob, and it was unlocked.
"Kaitlin?" he called, stepping out of the hallway. She met him in the doorway, tears in her eyes.
"Jesse, this is my aunt. She flew in to tell me," she began, but her voice broke, "My mom died. But she knows who my father is." Jesse's breath stuck in his throat. He was standing face to face with Susan Hilliard, his ex-girlfriend, who had run away to Oregon.
"Jesse," she said quietly. Susan looked at her niece, Jesse looked at Susan, and Kaitlin looked at the floor.
"So I'm your aunt's ex-boyfriend. And one of my friends is your father." Jesse said to fill the awkward silence.
"My sister, Jenny, is seven years older than me. When I was in high school, she moved to Wisconsin. I found out a few months later that she was pregnant. I knew Kaitlin very well because I visited her and Jenny a lot when she was a little girl.
"Anyway, I became a nurse, and I was happy here at Community General. And I was really in love with you, Jesse. But I was talking to my sister one day, and that's when I found out who Kaitlin's father is. Jenny didn't mean to tell me, it just kind of slipped."
"I still don't understand why you left," Jesse said, not trying to disguise the hurt in his voice. "I just couldn't deal with the secret," Susan explained, "I knew that eventually I would end up telling Steve if I stayed here. So for my sister's sake, I went to Oregon."
"Steve?" Jesse asked.
"Yes," Susan answered, "Steve is her father. I don't know if he even knew my sister was pregnant. She just left town one day. I figured that she was running from something, especially when she changed her last name from Hilliard to Everling.
"Jenny's car was hit by a bus yesterday and she was killed instantly," Susan said, her eyes tearing. "I promised her once that if anything ever happened to her I would watch over Kaitlin. And that's what I'm doing. I think right now, she needs the love of her father."