Chapter Ten – Picking Up Some Pieces
Rae had watched Jesse sleep, had sat and tried to, once again, collect her thoughts. She still couldn't understand why everything had happened, the memories were fresh in her mind, but they appeared muddled because they had all seemed to happen without any reason, and so as she sat there she went back over it all again. When she had tried to restrain her husband in the kitchen, Rae had seen pure fear in his eyes and she had been so relieved when he realised who she was. Rae shook her head and tears threatened her, she had seen her own husband, someone who was normally the kindest and gentlest soul she knew, someone who had promised to do no harm, with a knife in his hand, a knife that he was using as a weapon. With a heavy sigh Rae stood up and ran her fingers through her hair, she needed to see Steve, to make sure he was alright, and to do that she had to see Alex, and so she decided to head towards the ER in the hope of finding her doctor there.
Mark had fallen into a deep sleep, and hadn't been aware of Daniel coming back, of Alex taking him for some food, or of the nurse checking on both his son and himself. By the time Daniel had decided that M's meatloaf was much better than the stuff from the cafeteria, and that green jello wasn't fit for dogs Mark was so deeply asleep that the boy could have played his music full blast and he still wouldn't have stirred. Alex had watched Daniel eat a full lunch for breakfast and tried to work out if he would have done the same at fifteen. He had decided that yes, he probably would. Daniel had been amazed to see all types of meals available so early in the day, until Alex had pointed out that, with the different shift systems in operation, early morning was dinner time for many staff members.
Once he had eaten his fill Daniel came back up to his dad's room with Alex so he could re-check Steve's vital signs himself and make sure Mark was ok, but only ten minutes later he had been called down to the ER and as his friend left, Daniel heard a nurse on duty tell him that Rae needed to see him too. Daniel leant back in the chair next to his father's bed and picked up his magazine. His eyes looked at the words, but none of them were taken in, he didn't want to read, and so he let his mind wander, he'd had some great times since he had started to live with Steve and Jo, and a lot of them had been with Rae and Jesse too. Daniel still couldn't understand why Jesse had lost it like that. Nothing made sense, Daniel knew that his grandpa was right, Jesse did love his dad, and even though it sounded sappy he knew that he adored Rae, so there had to be a reason why he'd done what he did. Daniel thought for a moment, and then he stood up, looked at his dad and left the room.
Mark turned slightly on the cot, a frown crossing his features, and on the bed Steve's eyelids flickered, just the once and then were still again.
Alex had dealt with a serious motorcycle accident and by the time he had finished he was glad he didn't own one. One young man of twenty-two had lost his leg, there had been no alternative, and Alex knew that he was being operated on right now in the hope that his other leg could be saved. He washed his hands and, taking his badge off it first, threw the bloodstained coat into the laundry. He took another clean one from the pile in the doctors' locker room, deciding as he did so that he needed a shower.
The water pounded down on him and he rested his head against the cool tiles. He still didn't know exactly what had happened the previous night, and he realized that he had to find out. He needed to know why Jesse had attacked his best friend, needed to know what would make the normally even tempered young man totally lose it in that way, and he needed to know what he could do to help make everything right again.
Alex dried himself off, and began to think things through as he dressed. The answers would lie with Jesse, they had to. Steve had been dropping Rae home from work, at least he thought that was what he was doing, and Jesse had attacked them. He had no more information than that, but he needed to find out. Running his fingers through his hair to make it reasonably tidy Alex knew where he could start and so, throwing the towels into their laundry basket, he left the room.
Daniel stood in the crowded office and smiled, he couldn't help himself, there was something about the place that just made you feel good. He looked around and was sure that there was even more stuff in here than the last time he'd visited, then with a laugh he moved over to the crowded bookshelf and began to read the titles on the spines of all the books.
"Ok, what do I want? '100 Cases for Students, Medicine, Surgery, Ob … stetrics and Gynae … cology', no, I don't think so. '100% Health, How to Live Longer, Feel Better and Stay Free from Disease' not the type of thing you'd think a doctor would have, sort of do them out of a job. Ooh, how about this one, 'American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook and Neu … Neu …ro … psychiatry and Clinical Neuro…sciences' Fourth edition, no less, I don't think I can even lift that off the shelf. 'The Textbook of Pain', oh, that's reassuring, 'Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine' well, I guess that one figures… What the? 'Textbook of Ayurveda' whatever that is, and the 'Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine – Diseases of the Dog and Cat', Grandpa, you are a strange, strange man." Daniel laughed again, and then saw a book that he thought would help. "Trauma and Recovery', yep, that'll do me."
"Daniel, what are you doing in here?" Alex's voice frightened the young man so much that he dropped the book on the floor.
"Don't do that, don't you ever knock?"
"Well, last I knew you were in ICU."
"And you were in the ER, so you shouldn't be here either. Grandpa's secretary knew who I was and let me in, so what's your excuse?" Daniel shot back his reply.
"I finished. What did you want?" Alex suddenly felt defensive.
"Oh, um, I wanted a book; I just had an idea about Dad and Jesse." Daniel looked embarrassed and knelt down to pick up the volume he had dropped. "I picked this." He held it out and Alex took it from him.
"You're thinking like me, which is a worry, I'm here for a book too. Hold on and we'll go back up together." Alex ran his finger along the backs of the books until he found what he was looking for. "Here we go, 'Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Sourcebook' Now, I need to go and see Rae, and you need to go and sit with your dad. I would imagine that in about a half hour or so he will begin to come round."
"Really? Oh, great, thanks, Alex."
"You're welcome, oh, and, Dan?"
"Yeah?"
"It'll take him a while, just let him know you're there and he'll do the rest, but buzz for the nurse and she'll page me, ok?"
Daniel nodded, and then with a slightly lighter spring in his step he left Mark's office and headed back to where he hoped his dad and his grandpa would still be sleeping.
Rae had asked for Alex in the ER, but finding out that he was going to be busy for a while had gone straight back to Jesse's room. Now she was glad that she had as it was clear that Jesse was beginning to wake up. Rae pressed the buzzer by the bed, told the nurse on duty what was happening and then she had sat quietly, resisting the temptation to take hold of his hand, and watched.
Jesse didn't know where he was, and he was scared to open his eyes. He could feel the presence of someone by his side, but he had no idea who it was. He had been coming to, gradually, for a while, but he had tried not to move, not to let whoever it was in the room with him know that he was no longer asleep.
"Jesse, Honey, it's me, it's Rae." Her voice was soft and gentle, and Jesse felt the emotion well up inside him.
"Rae?" He opened his eyes, and his voice croaked as he spoke.
"Let me get you a drink, don't say anything." Rae carefully picked up the beaker from the nightstand and put the straw into her husband's mouth. "Better?"
"Much, thanks… What happened, why am I …? Oh, my God, Rae, Steve!" Jesse's eyes widened and he moved back into the pillows and away from where his wife was sitting.
"Shhh, it's ok. Steve's gonna be alright." Rae still hadn't seen her partner, but remembering how Daniel had been she knew she was speaking the truth. "Baby, please, let me help you." Rae moved her hand towards that of her husband, and felt the disappointment inside her as he backed away a little more.
"I … I can't. I want to, I really want to, but …" Jesse realised that he did want her help, needed it, but there was something that was stopping him from being able to confide in her.
"Jess, I don't know what happened last night, why you acted the way you did, but I will do anything, anything at all that I can to help you … even if that means I do nothing."
Jesse felt the love he had for her rush to the surface, but the fear was there, always there, just waiting to engulf him, and it was too strong for him to banish. "I'm sorry, please, tell Steve, I am so very, very sorry."
"Ok, I will, but now, close your eyes, go back to sleep, you're safe here, nothing will happen to you, I promise you, nothing at all." Rae saw him nod his head, and the fear seemed to recede just a little. Gradually his eyes closed and, still under the influence of the sedative Mark had prescribed, Jesse slept once again.
For a while Rae sat there, she didn't know what to do, how to help, maybe she would have to do as she had suggested and step back and do nothing, but she knew it would be almost too hard.
"Rae?" The voice broke into her concentration and she looked up. Lauren Yung was standing in the doorway and Rae smiled.
"Hi, how are you today?"
"I'm good; I'm guessing you aren't so good." Lauren indicated the chairs outside of Jesse's room, and Rae stood, moved out and sat back down.
"I've had better days. Lauren, help him, please. I don't know what's wrong with him, but I do know that he needs your help, he didn't recognise us, either of us, when we got home last night, and … and I thought he'd killed Steve, oh!" Rae covered her mouth with her hand as the memories of the previous day came up as a vision in front of her.
"Hey, it's ok, of course I'll help him, and you too." Lauren put her hand on Rae's arm and felt her shake. "Shhh, it's fixable, whatever it is, I'm sure it's fixable." Lauren wasn't sure, but she had faith in herself, and she knew that if she could find out what was wrong with Jesse, then she could fix it, but he had to let it out first.
Steve's journey back to the waking world was slow and fuzzy. He knew his dad was with him, he hadn't opened his eyes yet, but he just knew. He could feel someone holding each hand, and he realized that he liked the fact that more than one person was waiting for him.
"Jo?" His voice came out slurred and slow, but both Mark and Daniel breathed a sigh of relief.
"Dad, it's me, Daniel, it's ok, I've called for Alex, and it's ok." Daniel tried to wipe away a tear without his grandpa seeing it, but when he looked up and saw the smile on Mark's face he knew he hadn't succeeded.
It was another five minutes before Steve felt able to open his eyes, and when he did so, first of all he could only see blurry shapes. It was obvious that they were heads, but whose heads was a mystery. He did know that his mouth was dry, and he tried to speak again.
"Jo?"
"Her plane was delayed, Dad, but she'll be here, I promise."
His words seemed to do the trick and a small smile played across Steve's face. "K."
"Son, have just a little drink, here." Mark held the beaker for Steve and watched him carefully as he took a sip.
"Thanks, Dad."
The room disappeared back into silence, and Daniel tried to stay positive. Alex had said it would take a while, just to let him take it at his own pace, and his grandpa didn't seem worried. A few minutes later Daniel felt his dad move again, and to his delight his fingers tightened and gripped his hand.
"Hi, Son." Steve's voice still didn't sound quite like it belonged to him, but it was getting better all the time.
"Hey, Dad." Daniel's voice was choked with emotion, but now he didn't care. Alex had joined them just after Steve had asked for Jo the second time, and he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled down at him.
"Ok, Dan?" Alex was watching both Daniel and Steve, and he was delighted with how they were both reacting.
"Oh yeah, now I'm just fine."
It was a little after one when Lauren finally got to see her patient. Jesse had woken twice during the morning, but both times he had just taken a drink of water and then gone back to sleep, but at twelve he had asked Rae to call and see if he could have some lunch. Alex had come in as he had been eating and Rae had taken her leave after that. She needed to get into the station, and she had to go see her children, take them home and just spend some time with them.
Jesse had watched her go and tried to evaluate how he felt about her leaving. A part of him wanted her there, desperately wanted her to take him in her arms and let him know that everything would be alright, but the rest of him couldn't do it, couldn't let her into his private world any more, and even though he knew that it was wrong, that was the part of him that was winning at the moment.
Now though Lauren was sitting in one chair in the hospital room, and Jesse, dressed and ready to go home if Lauren would release him, was sitting in the other one.
"Jesse, you know that I am recording this so that I can have it transcribed later?"
"Yes, I know that, and I don't mind." Jesse wasn't looking at Lauren, he was so ashamed of why he was in the hospital at all, and he knew that he was going to have to discuss it if there was any chance of him leaving in the near future.
"I need you to look at me, ok? We have always been able to talk things through, and I hope that you can do that with me this time." Lauren had a tablet of paper on her lap and a pen in her hand. She wasn't going to note anything that her patient said, but she did want to write down any observations she had of his appearance, his behaviour and his ability to keep eye contact with her. "Do you know what day it is today?"
"Yeah, it must be … Thursday, because Rae came home on Wednesday, and I've slept, so Thursday, it's Thursday." Jesse smiled but inwardly his very soul was crying out. He knew that Lauren was assessing him, that this was an initial crisis intervention meeting, and he could find himself in the psyche ward by the end of the day.
"Ok, and can you tell me why you're here?" Lauren could see the conflict in Jesse's eyes, the pain that his meeting with her was causing, and her heart went out to him.
Jesse immediately looked at the floor, and his hands began pulling at the bottom of the t-shirt he was wearing. He saw the scars on his arm and instinctively covered them over with his other hand, and he said nothing.
"Jesse, I need you to talk to me, do you want me to help you?"
"Yes, yes I do, but … but it's just so hard, y'know, I … I'm … Lauren, I tried to kill my best friend!" Jesse had got to his feet and was moving around the small room. There was no purpose to his movements; he just couldn't sit down any longer. "How could I do that? He's my best friend, he was with Rae and I tried to kill him and … I … I knocked her down, I hit her and sent her flying." Jesse sat down heavily on the bed. "What's happening to me? Lauren, help me, please, please, help me."
"Jesse, look at me, and listen, really listen. In fact, first, come and sit back in the chair." Lauren waited and Jesse got up and did as he was told. Then she put her pad and pen aside and folded her hands in her lap.
"I know that you're scared, there is no way that you would have done what you did otherwise. And I also know, I'm a therapist, I am here to help you not make statements like that, but I think you need a little push to get you started, am I right?" Lauren watched as her patient nodded his head, and then she continued. "Can you tell me how you felt when Rae and Steve came to your house?"
Jesse nodded his head and then he closed his eyes. Inside himself he was back in the hallway again, looking around, wondering where his wife was, needing her to be where she should be, but knowing that it was his fault that she wasn't there.
"I … I got home, and she wasn't there, I didn't like that, it wasn't right, she is always where she should be. She left here and went to work, if I called the station now, she would be there, or on a case, but she would be where she should be."
"And it worried you that she wasn't home? Couldn't you have just called her?" Lauren had picked up her tablet again and was jotting down the fact that the entire time Jesse spoke his hands were moving, not a lot, but small, jerky movements that he didn't seem to be aware of.
"No, because I knew why she wasn't home. I saw her when she got back from Santa Barbara, here at the hospital, but she saw me too, and …" Jesse trailed off, he was ashamed again, of what he had done, of what it had done to his wife, and suddenly he felt dirty, contaminated by his actions, not just of the night before, but of the daytime too.
"And you were doing what? Something that you are not proud of I would guess. Jesse, this is a hospital, there can't be too many things that can make you ashamed of your behaviour, can there?"
"How about kissing an ex-girlfriend and I mean really kissing her?" The words were flung out; as if the faster they were spoken the further away from him they would travel.
"I see." Lauren wasn't really quite sure what to say in reply to Jesse's statement. She had thought that it would link directly to the occurrences later in the day, but she wasn't sure that it did.
"That was why she wasn't home, she saw me, and she was so hurt. I … I don't know why I did it, I knew it wasn't Rae, but I still kissed her, and then, at the time, I enjoyed it."
"And now?"
"And now I don't know. Susan, that's her name, Susan, I hadn't seen her in a long time, she came up behind me and put her hands over my eyes. I was scared at first, but I thought it was Rae, and I turned round so I could kiss her, I knew she would want me to kiss her, I … I haven't done, not for a long time, but it wasn't her."
"Ok, keep talking." Lauren knew that there were issues already that needed to be addressed, but she had to get a basic outline of everything that had happened, and then she could be sure that she would be able to deal with the root of Jesse's problems.
"Rae ran off, and then when I got home, well, she wasn't there, and I was scared, I knew why, but I still needed her to be just someplace in the house." Jesse shook his head, even if Rae had been home he wouldn't have been able to talk to her, not and unburden himself, he didn't understand it all himself yet, but Rae would listen, would try to help him more than any other person he knew, so why couldn't he do it?
"And when Rae did come home, what happened then?"
"It was dark, really dark, I guess I must have fallen asleep, I didn't know it was them, I really didn't. I … I could hear voices, I didn't recognise the voices, but they were everywhere, and I was so scared." The scene came up in his mind again and Jesse began to shake. "They were coming for me … just like they said they would … I didn't know it was them, I swear, I didn't know it was them." The tears came then, and Jesse couldn't stop them. His voice shook at he continued talking. "He's … he's my best … best friend … Lauren." Jesse looked up and the pain in his eyes was so complete, so overwhelming that Lauren moved quickly over to his side and took him into her arms. She knew that he had attacked two people and nearly killed one of them, but she felt no danger emanating from him now, just a terrible sadness.
"Shhh, it's gonna be ok." She couldn't continue, there really wasn't anything else she could say, not and know it was true, so she held him and soothed him as she would her own child and waited for the overwhelming need for release to be satisfied.
Finally Jesse began to calm down and Lauren carefully moved away from him, partly so that she didn't cause him greater embarrassment, but mainly so she could see how he reacted now he was in control of himself again.
Rae had called a cab and headed straight to the station. She had signed out a pool car so that she finally had transportation again, and then she had made herself a hot drink, picked up all the files on the two main cases she was dealing with and sat at her desk.
She knew that she was missing something with the Chief's case, but she had no idea what it was. The video recording of Elizabeth Masters going into the elevator was a little fuzzy and jumpy but it had provided them with a suspect, if he could be identified by the back of his head and what he did with it. Rae wasn't sure what she was seeing, but the killer moved his head in a very strange, and extremely awkward looking way and even though she had watched it over and over she still had no idea what, if anything, it meant. She made a note to ask Steve about it and then carried on with her work. There was no film of the inside of the elevator and the hallways of the different floors weren't covered either. Once people arrived at the reception desks of the various businesses they were once again identifiable, but only if you knew what they looked like. As security went it stank, and as an aid to finding a murderer it was next to useless.
Rae read through the notes that Steve had made on the murder of the second victim of their vacant lot murderer. Again the young woman had been pretty and blonde, and Steve had begun to make a comparison between the two girls. Amanda's autopsy report showed that there had once again been ten stab wounds, including the two to the feet and the slit throat. The rest of the injuries were in similar places as Jenna's, and both women had been stabbed in the back, she had also had sex either just before she died or had been raped post mortem. Rae shuffled the papers in front of her, looking for the identity of their second body and noted that it had been missing persons who had come up with the name. Samantha Morrison had been reported missing by her mother and formally identified by her before Rae returned from Santa Barbara. As she carried on checking through all the paperwork Rae looked for the interview with the girl's parents, and found, to her horror, that Steve had arranged for the both of them to visit Mrs Morrison at the Beach View Hotel that very afternoon. With a heavy heart she picked up the phone and put a call through to the grieving mother, knowing that there was no way that she would be able to pick up her children and get to the appointment on time.
Jo had fidgeted and fretted all the way from LAX to Community General, and by the time she was in the elevator being taken to Steve's floor she was in such a state that she no longer had the ability to keep still.
The ICU was quiet and calm, and checking the numbers by each room she made her way to where her husband was. The room though was empty and, her panic rising steadily the whole time, Jo turned and rushed towards the nurse's station. "Steve Sloan, where is Steve Sloan?"
"Ma'am?" The nurse looked up from her notes as Jo spoke.
"My husband, Steve Sloan, was in room 394, an' now he's not, where is he?"
This time the nurse smiled. "He was discharged about a half hour ago, and I think I heard him say he was going to see … Doctor Travis. He's in Room 3939."
Jo returned the smile and felt the relief flood through her. Questions were immediately crowding her mind, but she knew that Mark would be able to answer them for her and if Steve was here, then her father-in-law would be too.
"Thank you." Jo knew the hospital well enough to know where she was going and so it wasn't long before she saw the room that Jesse was in. Jo thought her heart might stop as she saw the familiar outline of her husband moving away from her down the hallway. "Steve?" Her voice came out as a croak, but he turned, a smile on his face, and the next second she was caught up in a one armed hug that was the most wonderful thing she could ever imagine.
Jesse had been talking quietly to Lauren about how he felt about going home when he had seen Steve through the window of his room. The fear and agitation that this had caused had alarmed his therapist and Steve as well as Jesse himself.
"I … I can't see him, Lauren, make him go away … he knows … he has to go … I … I can't …" Jesse had begun to hyperventilate then and Lauren had stood, without a word, and left the room, but she made sure that she could see her patient the entire time.
"Lieutenant Sloan, I don't think that this is a good time for you to see Doctor Travis. I'm sure you will be able to catch up with each other real soon, but if you could leave for now." Her voice was soft, but loud enough for Jesse to hear. Steve just nodded his head, he wasn't sure what to say and so he looked up at his dad, who turned the wheelchair he was sitting in and began pushing him back down the hallway.
Lauren returned to the room and crouched down in front of Jesse, placing her hand over his as she did so. "He's gone, Jesse, he understood, it's ok."
"Good … but if he understands, perhaps he could explain it to me." There was just a spark there, a tiny bit of the old Jesse, and Lauren smiled.
"I'm sure if you give him the chance he'll try to work it all out for you, he is a cop after all."
There was silence in the room then, and Lauren sat, watching and waiting, until she knew that it would be safe for her to go and consider what she had learnt so far.
After about ten minutes she felt that the time was right for her to speak again. "Jesse, I am going to leave you for a little while but I think you should stay here for at least another night. I will go and call Rae if you would like." Lauren waited, and finally Jesse took a deep breath and nodded his head.
"I don't want to stay, but … but I don't want to go home either, I don't know what I want to do, so yeah, I'll stay, and I can't talk with Rae right now, so please let her know."
Lauren could see how much conflict Jesse was fighting, and she just nodded her head. She didn't show her surprise that Jesse didn't want to be with his family, but she certainly felt it. "I will come back just after six, I would suggest you have a little dinner and maybe try to sleep for a while." This time Jesse just nodded and, getting to his feet, climbed back onto the bed. "We will get to the bottom of this and make sure you are happy again, Jesse, ok?"
Jesse knew he couldn't just nod again, and so tremulously he began to speak. "I … I have lots of questions, you could answer them later, right?"
"I can try. Now, doctor's orders, an afternoon nap and dinner."
"Yes."
Lauren waited a few seconds to see if he had anything further to add, but as the silence continued she gave his arm a squeeze and then left the room, wondering as she did so just how long it would take to get the cheerful Jesse of old back.
Jo, Mark and Steve had joined up with Daniel by the nurses' station in the ER and travelled home together in Mark's car. Michael had met the four of them at the door, and before Steve really knew what had hit him he was sitting on the sofa in the living room, a blanket over his knees, the remote control in his hand and his feet up on a small footstall.
"Guys, guys, I am planning on returning to work in the morning, I feel fine, and I really don't need this."
"They have highlights of Monday's game on in ten minutes." Daniel looked up from the television guide.
"They do? Well, in that case, Son, could you get me a couple of cold sodas from the fridge and some chips?"
"Sure, Dad, can I have one too?" Daniel smiled, saw his dad nod and left on his errand. Ten minutes later the two of them were sat waiting for the game to begin and Steve realised he had a problem.
"Ah, Son?"
"Yeah?" Daniel was reading through the game details in the paper, he liked to know beforehand what bits to look for, and watch them play by play.
"I have a slight problem with my soda." Steve had been watching the boy as he read; sometimes it was a real good feeling to observe without being noticed. He knew how close he had come this time to losing both his son and his wife and somehow that made the quiet time they were spending together more special.
"What? Sorry." Daniel finally looked up to see his dad watching him with a smile of satisfaction on his face and a can of soda in his hand. For a moment Daniel just looked back at him, but then realisation dawned. "You can't open that, can you?"
"Nope, not at the moment."
"I could go get you one of those cartons with the straw that M gets in for Eliana and Anneya if you like."
"Oh, ha ha, just open it please because the game is starting."
"Oh, right." Daniel quickly did as he was told, he knew that there was a touchdown on the first play of the game and he didn't want to miss it.
Knowing that she didn't want to watch the TV, and needing more information than Miss Prissy Knickers had been able to give her, Jo found herself sitting in the morning room with Mark trying to find out what had taken place while she had been away. "What happened? I don't understand how … I guess I just don't understand."
"Honey, all I know is that Steve brought Rae home because someone trashed her car and when they got to Oak Place Steve got stabbed."
"Did they get the guy who did it? Was the house robbed, do I need to get the security company in to reset the alarms, did Rae's car have anything to do with it …? Sorry." Jo stopped talking as she saw Mark put his finger on his lips.
"From what I understand there was just Jesse at home when they got there, and no I don't think her car had any connection to this."
"You don't mean that Jesse did this!" Jo looked on aghast as she saw him nod his head.
"I wasn't here, and I haven't had a chance to speak with either Steve or Rae for long enough to get all the details but yes, from what I can understand, Jesse attacked them. But that's where my understanding ends."
Jo sat, a stunned look on her face, as she tried to work out what could have made the gentle, fun loving husband of her best friend do anything so violent. Finally, after a few minutes, she began to speak again. "Do you think that it has somethin' to do with what happened in that garage?"
Mark knew what his daughter-in-law meant. The time that she and Jesse had spent together in the clutches of the Sweeny Todd murderer had been a horrific time for them all, but she and Jesse had suffered agonies which were unimaginable to the rest of them.
"I guess it must have something to do with that," he said, "and I did try to see him, but he was asleep and I needed to be with Steve. Mark tried to swallow down his feelings. He knew how much Jesse meant to Steve and vice versa, and he himself considered him a part of his own family. Mark also knew that what had happened was so far out of character that it had to have been caused by some sort of mental aberration.
Jo was just about to speak again when there was a loud cheer from the living room, and she chuckled and shook her head. "He's ok, isn't he, he really is ok." She didn't ask a question, but stated a fact and Mark nodded.
"Yeah, he really is … but it was close, Jo, this time it was almost too close to call."
"How can he have been almost dead yesterday an' then today cheerin' on a football team?"
"Because, in a way, all he had was a cut that needed a few stitches. Unfortunately, that cut severed his brachial artery, and so he would have bled to death if Rae hadn't gotten the ambulance there. It was a minor injury with major consequences, but once the artery was stitched there was no longer any danger of blood loss and it became a cut again."
"Thank you, Mark." She leant over and kissed him gently on the cheek.
"It was my pleasure, if you tell me what I did, I'll do it again." His blue eyes sparkled and he grinned at her. Steve was home with his family, and while he was here that was the main thing on his mind, the problems with Jesse could wait until the next day.
After her appointment with Mrs Morrison, Rae had gone to Sally's picked up her daughters and then driven back to Beverley Hills. The weather was beautiful and so she had made herself a cup of tea and taken the girls outside. While Eliana and Anneya played in their part of the garden Rae sat, at first just enjoying the scene in front of them, but then she popped back inside the house, grabbed a piece of paper and began to devise a schedule she could work to while Jesse was away.
Gradually Rae had a plan where she would either drop the girls off with Sally just before the start of her shift or, if Jesse was still in the hospital and Rae was either working a late shift, or unable to get home, then arrangements would be made for Sally to keep them overnight. Once she had it all written out in front of her Rae had called her child carer and they had talked it through.
"I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help, every time something … something happens you're there for me." For a moment Rae was a little overwhelmed by the feelings she had for her friend. "I don't know how we would have managed without you. I would have had to get a nanny, or given up my job. I don't want to have to do either of those things. Sally, thank you."
The friendly voice at the end of the line came through loud and clear. "That's ok. You have two darling children, Eliana is polite, delightful, as stubborn as an ox, but charming with it, and Anneya, well you just wouldn't know she was there. I've noticed that she is more than happy to let Eliana do all the talking, but she is such a sweet child, I love them both to bits." Rae heard the smile in Sally's voice and knew that everything was alright, that the lives of her children would continue to have the stability and routine that they had always had, whether their mommy and daddy were home or not.