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Chapter 23

After calling several airlines, Jack was able to book an afternoon flight. He woke up early the next morning and threw a few things into a carry-on bag. After showering, shaving and dressing in jeans and a blue polo shirt, he called his right-hand man Ben Wilson. He told him an emergency had arisen and that he needed to fly to Los Angeles. When he asked Ben if he would mind covering for him, Ben readily agreed.

"I'm willing to help," he told a grateful Jack.

"Thanks. I know we haven't worked together very long, but I appreciate you stepping up like this."

"No problem," Ben assured him. "You take care of whatever you need to. The restaurant will be in good hands."

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Later that morning, Jack was ready to leave for the airport when his phone rang. It was Nick.

"Did you know about Taylor?" Nick asked, after they'd exchanged a quick "hello".

"Yes. I'm heading out to L.A."

"Wow. Good for you. Janet needs you."

"I have to be there for her, Nick. I've let her down before. She has to know she can count on me."

"I understand. Anything I can do for you here?"

"No. I hate leaving the restaurant, but I trust the man I've put in charge."

"I can check on things if you want me to."

"Sure. That'd be great. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Just do me a favor and keep me posted."

"Will do."

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"Dr. Davis," Janet asked anxiously, after he'd finished examining Taylor, "why hasn't my daughter woken up?"

"She's still fighting the infection," Dr. Davis informed a tired and shaken Janet and Terri.

"Isn't the medication helping?!" Janet asked, nearing hysteria.

"It is," he tried to assure the worried mother, "but it's going to take some time. Taylor had a very high fever when she was brought in. Her temperature has dropped a degree. I'm hoping her fever will break soon, and once it does, she should wake up."

"Is there anything else we can do, Doctor?" Terri asked.

"Not really. We're making her as comfortable as possible. The best thing you can do is to continue to be with her, talk with her, offer her your comfort."

"Thank you, Doctor," Terri said, ushering Janet away.

"Yes, thanks," Janet added absent-mindedly.

They returned to Taylor's room and searched for any signs that she was getting better.

"Terri," Janet said, "if you want to go home, go ahead. I'll be fine. I'm just going to park myself in front of my daughter's bed and let her know I'm here for her."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. You've been with me all night. You need to go home and see your husband and son."

"I would like to go home just for a little while," Terri said. "I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Take longer than that," Janet said. "It's Thanksgiving Day. Spend time with your family."

"You and Taylor are my family, too," Terri said, tears gathering in her eyes. "This is not how I imagined the two of you would be spending Thanksgiving. I won't stay away too long."

The two women hugged, and after Terri gave Taylor a light kiss on her forehead, she left, promising to return soon.

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A few hours later, Janet was stroking her daughter's hair and telling her how much she loved her when she heard the most familiar and comforting voice call out her name. Thinking she must have fallen asleep and was dreaming, she looked up anyway and saw Jack standing in the doorway with a sympathetic smile on his face.

"I have to be dreaming," Janet said. "I know there's no way you can be here."

"You're not dreaming," he said, stepping further into the room.

"But how?" Janet asked, rising from her chair to meet him halfway. "How do you even know about this?"

"When you didn't call me, I phoned Terri's place just to make sure everything was all right. Travis thought I knew what had happened. I'm so sorry, Janet."

"Oh, Jack," Janet said, her voice breaking.

And then she let him console her while she shed the tears she had been holding back for so long.

"It's going to be all right," he said, alternately smoothing her hair and rubbing her back.

His gaze landed on Taylor, who seemed so peaceful in slumber.

"Taylor is a fighter, and so are you. Your daughter is going to beat this, and you are going to be there with her every step of the way."

"I don't know, Jack," Janet said, in between sobs. "I keep thinking that Taylor is going to be taken from me."

"You can't think like that, Janet, because Taylor isn't going to leave you."

"Jack," Janet said, her voice filled with pain as she pulled away to look at him.

He gave her his handkerchief; she dabbed at her eyes to dry them.

"Jack," she repeated, "I...I have to tell you something."

"You know you can tell me anything," he said, keeping her close to him.

She nodded and tried to swallow the tears.

"Sometimes," she began, twisting the white cloth in her trembling hands, "I wasn't very nice to Todd, and I wasn't always the best wife to him. I made a lot of mistakes."

Jack felt the need to defend Janet. "I'm sure Todd make a lot of mistakes, too."

And I would like to tell you about them someday, he added silently.

"I guess so," she replied, not really focusing on what Jack was saying.

He could tell her mind had traveled to a different time and place and that he needed to let her speak.

Before she continued, she looked over at her daughter, and fresh tears spilled down her cheeks.

"How could I have ever doubted that I wanted that precious little girl? How could I have been so rotten?"

"Janet," Jack said, realizing she had just made a huge admission and that he did not know what she was talking about. "What are you saying? I don't understand."

"I," she began, her eyes downcast. "I wasn't exactly jumping for joy when I found out I was pregnant."

Then her head snapped up quickly. "Not that I ever, for one moment, thought of not having the baby because I never ever entertained that idea. Ever."

"From what I know about you, I wouldn't have thought you would have."

The tenderness Janet heard in Jack's voice was her undoing.

"It's just that...the reality of my life with Todd was so different than what I had pictured in my mind. You know?"

"I guess."

"We hadn't really bonded in our marriage," she sadly admitted, "but Taylor managed to bring us closer together. When I saw how thrilled Todd was that he was going to be a father, I slowly started to warm up to the idea that I was having his baby. Our marriage...our life together...it...it was just never the ideal situation that I thought it could or should be."

Janet looked at Jack's concerned face and then looked away.

"I should not be telling you all this," she said, as if she just realized to whom she was talking to.

"I'm glad you are," Jack said, gently massaging her arms. "It explains a lot, Janet."

"About what?" she asked, puzzled.

"About some things that happened that I hope to be able to tell you about. Someday."

Before she could say another word, he enveloped her in his strong arms once more and held her tightly against him.

"Just know, Janet, that you are a wonderful mother and that you are not going to lose Taylor. She loves you sooo much."

"I love her, too," Janet said, her voice thick with emotion. "She's my life, Jack. I could not go on if I lost her. I know I couldn't. The pain would be too much for me to handle."

"It's okay, sweetheart, because I know Taylor is going to come back to you. To us."

"I still can't believe you're here," Janet said, looking up at him through watery eyes, "but I'm so thankful you are. I need you, Jack. So much."

"Where else would I be?" he asked simply. "I know I've let you down before, but you're the woman I love, and this is exactly where I want to be."