Hi! :-) Thanks, as always, for your kind reviews!! Here's another chapter.

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Chapter 22

The last time Jack checked the clock, he'd realized Janet and Taylor's plane had probably just landed. Busy with the restaurant, he hadn't noticed that Janet had yet to call until he'd wished his last two customers a Happy Thanksgiving and then had made his way to the office to total the receipts.

Before turning on the calculator, he leaned back in his swivel chair, closed his eyes, and took a moment to reflect on the events of the past few months. In the spirit of the upcoming holiday, he realized he had a lot to be thankful for. Things were going very well for him, both in his professional life and personal life.

He opened his eyes and sat up in the chair. He smiled at the sight which greeted him. Earlier that day, Janet had surprised him with two gifts from the opening. One was a framed photo of her and Jack that Nick had taken and the other photo was of her, Jack and Taylor. He hadn't stopped staring at the photo of Janet and him until he'd absolutely had to go into the kitchen to check on that night's specials.

Now, he picked up the gold frame containing the picture of the three of them. While he liked it, he frowned as he noticed how drawn and pale Taylor's face had looked. Why hadn't he noticed it that night? Probably because he'd had too many things going on, he reasoned. Still, he recalled she'd hadn't said much nor had she'd eaten very much at all. He made a mental note to ask Janet if everything was all right with Taylor the minute she called.

And when would that be, he thought, checking his watch. Had she forgotten she was supposed to call him? Not very likely, he thought, with a devilish grin.

But still...

"Maybe they went some place," he told himself out loud. "Add up your receipts and the phone will ring."

But when he got yet another different total the third time he calculated, he gave up and stuffed the receipts into an envelope. He stood and stretched his muscles, willing the phone the ring.

Why hasn't she called?

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Janet had not left Taylor's bedside. She'd taken two sips of the coffee Terri had brought her and thrown the rest away.

"Taylor seems to have stabilized," Terri said, trying to offer comfort and hope to her friend.

"But she hasn't woken up, Terri. Why hasn't Taylor woken up?!"

"It's probably from the fever. Her body is trying to fight the infection."

Janet nodded, but she wished her daughter would open her eyes.

"Janet," Terri asked, placing a gentle hand on Janet's, "would you like me to call Jack to tell him what's going on?"

Janet vigorously shook her head.

"I want to wait," she explained. "There's nothing Jack can do."

"But I'm sure he'd want to know about this."

"Taylor is my daughter, Terri. I'll tell Jack when I'm ready."

At Janet's sharp tone, Terri backed off.

"Of course, Janet. I respect your wishes."

Janet immediately apologized for the harshness of her words.

"I'm sorry, Terri. I'm just feeling really guilty right now."

"Why? This is not your fault."

"Yes, it is. If I had been paying closer attention to Taylor, I would've realized she wasn't feeling well. My focus has been divided. I told Taylor she was my first priority, and yet, I can't see that she's really sick? What kind of a mother does that make me?"

"Janet, you are a great mom. You knew Taylor wasn't feeling like herself, but the symptoms were very vague from what you told me. She didn't have a fever, she went to school, she was eating. You couldn't have known this was going to happen. She might have gotten better on her own without you having to do anything."

"But she didn't get better, Terri. She got worse. Very quickly. I can't think about anything else but my daughter. Jack is just going to have to understand."

"I'm sure he will," Terri said, deciding not to push the idea of telling him about Taylor at that moment.

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As it turned out, Terri didn't have to worry about it. An hour later, when Jack still hadn't heard from Janet, he decided to call Terri's house. He didn't want Janet to feel as though he were checking up on her, but at the same time, he wanted to know that everything was all right.

Thinking it was Terri with news, Travis grabbed the receiver on the first ring and said a hopeful "hello". He was surprised to hear Jack's voice.

"I'm sorry to be calling so late," Jack began.

"No, it's okay," Travis assured him. "I know you want to hear the latest, too. I wish I could give you an update, but I haven't heard from Terri for the past couple of hours. I thought it might be her when the phone rang."

"The latest?" Jack asked, confused. "Travis, what are you talking about?"

"Taylor," Travis replied, assuming Jack knew what had happened.

"Taylor?" Jack repeated. "What about Taylor?"

"You mean you don't...you don't know what happened?"

"No," Jack said, uneasiness creeping into his voice. "Travis, what happened to Taylor?"

"Oh, man, I'm sorry. I thought you knew."

"Knew what?!" Jack demanded, beginning to panic.

Travis quickly explained. "Taylor got sick on the flight here. They took her to the hospital as soon as the plane landed. Terri said it's some kind of an infection. It sounds pretty serious, but I don't know how Taylor's doing. Terri and Janet are still at the hospital."

Jack ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Poor Taylor. I wondered what was going on when I hadn't heard from Janet, but I never thought it would be something like this."

"I know what you mean. We'll call you as soon as we know anything. Okay?"

"Okay. Tell Janet I'm really sorry about this and that my thoughts and prayers are with her and Taylor."

"Will do."

As Jack hung up the phone, he'd made his decision. Yes, he would appreciate any and all phone calls, but he wasn't about to sit around and wait for them. He needed to get on a flight to Los Angeles. And he needed to get on one now.