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What If…
Chapter 27
~Room 617~
Jason stepped out into the hall and eased the door shut behind him slowly, trying not to wake Rory. It had been a long night for both of them. The severity of her head injury was enough that she'd had to be monitored all night long, so she'd no more then fall asleep and someone would wake her up.
His fight with the nursing staff and Tony Jones probably didn't help matters. They wanted him to leave, and as long as she was in the hospital so was he, whether the rules said he could be or not. He hadn't been surprised when Rory had chimed in on the nurse's side, and tried to get him to leave, but in the end he'd proven to be the 'stubborn ass' that she'd called him and won.
He scrubbed a hand over his face, then stretched, trying to work out the kinks from his neck and shoulders. Splitting time between a chair and the narrow bed hadn't been very comfortable.
"Looks like I arrived just in time." Sonny's voice drifted down the empty hallway.
Jason looked up and smiled in relief when he saw Sonny, Francis, and Johnny coming towards him, carrying coffee and a bag from Louie's Bakery. He took the coffee gratefully. "Thanks."
"No problem, I had a feeling you would need it." Sonny looked at the closed door. "How is she?"
"Cranky, argumentative, sleeping, in other words she's back to normal."
Johnny let out a snort, drawing the other's attention to him. "Uh…well, I'm glad she's okay."
Jason just sipped his coffee. "Anything else happen last night?" He asked Francis.
"Emily made a call on the way home, she asked Reginald?" He paused at the name, and then went on when Jason nodded. "To make sure her window was locked and to check her room. I couldn't hear what he said to that, but from what Emily said, I think he was making up another room for her to stay in last night."
"What happened to Emily?" Sonny demanded, looking from the guard to his friend. "And why didn't someone tell me sooner?"
"Sonny there's some things that you need to know." Jason broke off when an orderly walked by. "Francis can you stay here while I fill Sonny in?"
Francis nodded. "Is Spencer still to be kept out?"
"Yes, and if you don't recognize someone, check their badges and watch…" Jason stopped himself. "You know what to do better then I do, hell man you trained me. Sorry."
"No problem." Francis dismissed the apology with a wave of his hand. It was always difficult when it was personal. And judging from what he'd seen of Jason, and what Johnny had told him, Rory was as personal as Jason got.
"Come on you can fill me in while we eat." Sonny turned away.
"I don't eat breakfast." Jason reminded him as he fell into step beside him.
"Who said I brought you any?" Sonny replied, before pointing at a trailing Johnny. "Johnny's hungry aren't you?"
"Yeah boss."
"See he knows the value of a good meal to start the day off right. A good nutritious well-balanced breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Sonny looked inside the bag and then shook his head with a sigh. "Here's your cream filled nut roll."
"Thanks. What?" Johnny stalled when he saw the look he was getting from Sonny.
"Nutritious meal there Johnny." Jason commented with a grin.
"Some people don't have any taste." Johnny took the gooey roll from Sonny. "By the way Cal saw Zander last night. He was busy drowning his sorrows at the Rub-A-Dub club off Pico."
"That's good to know." Jason dropped into a chair.
"I'm going to deliver Francis his jelly doughnut. Okay?" Johnny had a feeling that Jason wanted some privacy while he spoke with Sonny.
Sonny nodded and watched him walk away. "What did Zander do to Emily?"
Jason took a sip of his coffee before answering. He knew how loyal Sonny was. Sonny had taught him what the word meant, and since Zander was the reason Sorel was on death row, he knew Sonny would be loyal to Zander.
"Jason?" Sonny prompted, it wasn't like Jason to hesitate.
"Emily broke up with him last night and he didn't take it well." Jason looked over at Sonny trying to gauge his reaction. "When I came across them he was trying to drag Emily on the elevator to get her alone, and wasn't listening when she was yelling at him to let her go."
"Is she okay?"
"I'm sure she has a bruise from where he grabbed her arm, but other then that she's okay physically. She said that was the first time he had ever gotten like that with her."
"Do you believe her?" Sonny held his breath while he waited for the answer. He knew from bitter personal experience that sometimes a woman would lie, when asked that question. Whether it was because they were ashamed, because they still loved the guy, or because they were afraid, it didn't really matter, they lied, and they should never have been put in that position in the first place. He hadn't seen Emily very much recently, and when he had seen her she was always trying to leave, and leave quickly. Looking back now her actions worried him.
"Yes I don't think Zander ever hurt her." Jason hesitated briefly then went on. "I think something else did happen. But she isn't ready to talk about it yet, at least not with me."
"That's good." Sonny said in relief.
"I know we owe him, but…"
"Jason I'm always going to be grateful to Zander for what he did. But my loyalty is with you and Emily." Sonny cut him off. "I'll make it plain to Zander that if he wants to stay in my favor, he has to stay away from Emily."
"Good." Jason rubbed at his neck and the knot there. One concern down, once to go. "Did you get the report yet?"
"No. But Benny said he should have a copy in an hour. Taggert should be getting his copy," Sonny paused to look at his watch. "Right about now."
~PCPD~
"Here you go LT." Whitey slapped a brown manila folder on the desk.
"You're late Whitey." Taggert picked up the file. "I was supposed to have this last night."
"Did you want it quick or did you want it right?" Whitey demanded.
"So what slowed you down?" Taggert kept the filed closed and waited for Whitey to start. If you baited him right, sometimes he would let things slip that he didn't put in the report. Normally those things were right, but Whitey was too arrogant to put something on paper unless he knew it would never be proven wrong.
"LT you always fail to grasp just how difficult my work is." Whitey perched on the rickety old chair in front of his desk.
"And what was so difficult this time?"
"Shoes, LT, shoes." Whitey picked up a pencil from the desk and began to roll it in his fingers.
"Why were they special?"
"We didn't have any of that design in our database, or in the State of New York's database, I had to run them through NCIC before I finally found a match." He began to tap the pencil on the edge of the desk, while he spoke. "Do you remember that murder a few years ago by the Dupont heir?"
"Yes." Taggert nodded, his eyes locked on the tapping pencil.
"Well these are the same brand, only a different year. Bruno Mogli shoes. I had to get into their Website to get the exact style. It's their latest the spring of 2001 release."
"So I take it the shoes are high dollar?" Taggert began to find a rhythm in Whitey's tapping, he knew that song.
"Let me put it this way LT. Your last year's salary would have bought you two pairs if they were on sale."
Taggert let out a whistle. "So that pretty much clears the local talent."
"I bet so. I haven't seen a track like that at any crime scene."
"What about the guy inside the shoe?" Taggert began to drum his fingers in rhythm to the phantom song. It was familiar and hauntingly annoying but he couldn't place it.
"Judging from the weight distribution and placement between steps," Whitey picked up the beat of his tapping. "The guy is at least 6'1" and between 200 – 220 lbs. The indentions under his right footprint go deeper then the left, indicating a slight limp. Also it's official he definitely helped the car over the cliff. He left distinct prints in front of the car, those prints were flexed like he was pushing something."
Taggert ran through his file on known associates of Corinthos or Morgan, for anyone that matched that description, then he did the same for Sorel's people but no one came to mind. He found himself humming and frowned at Whitey. "Anything else?"
"Yes the handkerchief we got off the girl was high dollar work. Irish off-white linen, the lettering on the initials EM were silk, it was hand sewn. We are talking a lot of money here.
Taggert tried to block the unnamed song that was now rolling around in his head, and opened the file. "What about what was inside the car. Has that been retrieved yet?"
"Yes. She kept a neat car, only CD's, and some notebooks in the interior. There were a couple of bags in the trunk. All of it is in the lab. But you know as well as I do that I need to have more probable cause then this before I can open the locked bags." Whitey began to hum as well. "The CD's are standard issue, there were some loose papers in the water, but there's no guarantee they came from her car. Her purse was clean as well, no contraband."
Taggert shrugged he knew it was a long shot to think, she might be carrying something in her car, but it had been worth a try. "I'll see about getting you into the bags."
"Okay." Whitey looked at him expectantly. The fluorescent lights hit his glasses at just the right angle that it made him look like he had no eyes behind the lenses.
"Was there something else?"
"Now LT you wouldn't be trying to stiff me would you?"
"Where's the report on the car?" Taggert countered flipping through the sparse report.
"I told you yesterday that we can't get to the car." Whitey snapped.
"There are some things that you can tell me. When you do, then you'll get the tickets." Taggert held back his smile.
Whitey got to his feet. "And when I get the tickets, I'll tell you about her cell phone."
"What?" Taggert shot to his feet, and looked after a departing Whitey.
"Ah Garcia, it's a great day isn't it?" Whitey asked the Detective before beginning to whistle and walking out of the station.
"Whitey." Taggert yelled after him.
Detective Alex Garcia looked from Whitey's retreating back, to a red-faced Taggert. "Did you try to outsmart Whitey again?"
Taggert glared at him and sat back down.
"Marcus when are you going to learn?" Garcia sat in the chair with a shake of his head.
"Drop it." Taggert began to drum his fingers on the desk, to the beat that was going on in his head. "Did you find out anything on Rory Nichols?"
"I got some information on her yes. I should say I got very little information on her." He stopped in surprise when Taggert began to hum.
Taggert saw the look and quickly stopped his humming, but the tapping remained. "Well I knew she didn't have a record. I ran a cursory check on her after I met her."
"It's more then that." Garcia began to tap his finger as well. He knew that song, it was almost on the tip of his tongue. "If I didn't know better, I would say Rory Nichols was a ghost."
~Room 617~
"So am I going to live?"
Monica jerked in surprise at the question and looked from the file she was studying to a now awake Rory. "Yes you will."
"That's good to know." Rory raised the bed so she was sitting up. She was relieved to note that doing so didn't make her dizzy. "But I think I'll save the dance of gratitude until I get out of here. Do you know when that might be?"
"Well judging from our tests and your vitals, it'll probably be today. I know Tony wants to do some more tests on you regarding the concussion before he releases you though."
Rory couldn't help but grimace at the thought of Dr. Idiot getting near her. "Can't you do it? I would really like to get out of here."
"No I'm afraid not. I'm not your doctor. I was just checking on your progress." Monica hung the chart back on the bed.
Rory frowned, a simple concussion shouldn't warrant a curiosity check. "Is this a teaching hospital?"
"No."
"Then why?" She stopped the questions when she caught sight of the blonde's nametag. Dr. Monica Quartermaine. Jason's mother, oh shit.
~Nurse's Station~
"It's true Gabriella. We have a walking, talking ghost in the hospital." Amy put her hand on her hip and ignored the phone when it began to ring.
"Amy what are you talking about now?" Gabriella was only half listening. Everyone only half-listened to Amy, it was much saner that way.
"Rory Nichols, she's a dead ringer for Elizabeth Webber."
Audrey Hardy paused in her approach to the desk when she heard the name.
"Who is Elizabeth Webber?"
"Oh that's right you weren't here then. Elizabeth was Audrey's granddaughter, she died two years ago," she paused and her brown eyes widened in surprise. "Actually it was two years ago this week."
Audrey stayed where she was, even though it had been two years it still hurt. She missed her granddaughter everyday, with the anniversary of her death a few days ago, the loss was especially fresh in her mind, and in her heart.
"And this Rory Nichols looks a little like her?"
"No she doesn't just look like her. If I didn't know any better I would swear that it is Elizabeth Webber lying in Room 617. I tell you it's just plain spooky." Now that she was through with her story, Amy decided to get back to work and answered the phone. "6th floor Nurse's station can I help you?"
Audrey walked past the desk and looked thoughtfully down the hall.
~Room 617~
"Aren't you a heart surgeon? Is there something wrong with me that I don't know about?" Rory decided to keep it medical for now.
"No." Monica spoke quickly trying to reassure her. "I was here when you were brought in. Jason asked me to look in on you," she shrugged. "I guess I just wanted to follow-up."
Rory couldn't help but feel awkward. She wasn't prepared to meet Jason's mother. But she saw the way Monica's eyes had softened when she had said Jason's name, so she made the effort. "I'm glad you were here for him. I know I was pretty out of it."
Monica perched on the corner of the bed. "He was very worried about you."
"So I hear." Rory stuck out her good hand. "It's nice to finally meet you."
"You too." Monica took her hand. "I can't tell you how glad I am to meet you."
Rory drew back and looked at her in confusion.
"Sorry." Monica fiddled nervously with her necklace. "It's just I'm glad that he's not alone anymore. He was always so alone, and that worried me."
"Parental approval, I'm not used to that." Rory teased with a grin, trying to lighten the mood. "You might want to reserve judgment until you get to know me a little better."
Monica couldn't help but respond to the grin. "I think I can trust Jason's choices." She got to her feet, she didn't want to push too hard, too fast. "I need to get back to work, I hope I see you again, but not here."
"Trust me when I say, that I'm not in a hurry to return here." Rory watched her leave and let out a sigh. Monica was easy to read. It was obvious how much she loved Jason, and that was probably what made Jason pull away. Sometimes need could be overwhelming, especially to someone like Jason, she probably drove him crazy.
She sighed and dismissed Monica from her mind. On to more pressing problems, like seeing if she could walk without help. The few times she had stood up since the accident had made her head spin and she had clung to Jason for balance. It wasn't that she was against clinging to Jason, or didn't get dizzy around him at times, but she would still like to get back in control.
She pushed off the bed, keeping her hand on the mattress to steady herself. To her relief she didn't feel the strange vertigo sensation that had plagued her last night. She made her way to the bathroom and flipped on the light. "Christ."
"Problems shorty?" Carly asked from the doorway.
Rory kept her eyes on her reflection in the mirror. "Are you sure I didn't die yesterday? Because this look sure isn't healthy."
Carly stepped into the small room and studied Rory's face in the mirror. "You know I really can't tell the difference."
"Cute Blondie, I bet you're the type that goes around and kicks puppies too." Rory glared at her.
"You know it."
Rory's laughter filled the small room and Carly joined in. "You aren't so bad."
"Please don't insult me." Carly warned her. "Now act right or no surprise."
"Surprises are good." Rory turned away from the mirror and studied her. "You know Carly belts that wide went out in the 70's."
"There you go. Much better." Carly reached behind her and picked up a bag. "If anyone can pull off, white with polka dots it's you, but the combination is glaring on the eyes, so I brought you some clothes."
"Ah thanks Blondie." Rory said sweetly, reaching for the bag.
"Don't get sappy on me shorty. I still don't like you." Carly shot back. "I just don't want to look in your frightful face anymore, so I brought you some makeup too."
"I hope it's not Deception makeup, their quality sucks."
~Lounge~
"Benny brought the file you wanted to the warehouse yesterday." Sonny spoke after he finished the last of the blueberry muffin.
Jason looked at him blankly.
"The police report on Elizabeth Webber." Sonny explained, wiping his hands on a napkin. "You looking for something in particular?"
"I don't know." Jason shrugged. "Lucky pulled a head trip on Rory the other day. I just wanted some details."
"With Lucky, you and Rory all having deliberate accidents at the same time, you think there's a connection?"
Jason was quiet while he thought about it, ever since Sonny had told him that he thought Rory had been the target all along, he had thought of little else. "I don't know how it could be. Rory knows who she is. So no matter what Lucky says or does, it won't work."
"But?" Sonny prompted he knew there had to be more.
"But Lucky knew some things about Rory that he shouldn't have known and I don't like that." Jason admitted darkly.
"Yesterday, when Lucky confronted you, he let something slip that stayed with me. He knew you only had a single lock on your room at Jake's. If he got in, could that explain the knowledge?"
"Yeah, some of it." If Lucky had gotten in, it was another reason that moving to the penthouse would be the best thing for Rory.
"So do you think these accidents could be related?"
"Sonny." Benny interrupted them before Jason could answer.
"What are you doing here?" Sonny looked up in surprise. "Did we have a meeting?"
"No." Benny looked around before sitting down beside Jason. "We got a problem."
"What happened?"
"Three of our couriers were hit last night."
"Damn." Sonny leaned closer the anger showing in his eyes. "Are they dead?"
"Two are, the other one is alive for now, but its doesn't look good." Benny broke off when a nurse walked by.
"I thought it's been quiet here." Jason addressed both of them.
"It has been. There hasn't been so much as a rumor." Benny answered. "There's more though and I don't like it. Two of the couriers weren't carrying, they were on the way to their pickup, anyone watching them would have known that. Also the method of attack was unusual."
"How do you mean?" Sonny hated to lose people, and to lose two in one night wasn't going to be tolerated.
"No guns, the only wound on any of the guys is a single puncture wound here," he raised his hand and pointed to a spot right below his ear. "There was very little blood, Doctor Wilson says it was probably done with a stiletto type knife, one jab and they were down. It looks like they were all hit by the same guy."
"What happened with the third guy then?"
"He must have jerked at the last second, the puncture isn't as deep, he's also the only one with defensive wounds. But Doc says he probably won't last long." Benny got to his feet. "We don't have much time."
"Yeah I want to see him, and then deal with the others." Sonny commented but remained seated.
Jason looked at his friend then at Benny. "Give me a minute." He headed down the hall to Johnny and Francis. Johnny took one look at his face and headed for Sonny.
"Is there a problem?" Francis asked.
"Yeah." He scrubbed his face then looked through the window in the door, and frowned when he saw the empty bed.
"Carly's here. She brought Rory some clothes." Francis explained.
"Okay." Jason stepped back from the door. "I need to leave for awhile. Keep your eyes open. As long as Carly's here, Pete is here, I want you both on the door."
Francis nodded. "Is it bad?"
"Possibly." Jason opened the door far enough to pull his jacket off the door handle on the other side, then shut it quietly. "Keep your eyes open Francis." He said in warning then headed towards the elevator and a waiting Sonny.
~Room 617~
"Hello?" Rory called when she walked out the bathroom, but there was no one in the room. She headed towards the bed, she actually felt halfway human again. It was so nice to be in clothes that actually closed in the back. She picked up the phone when it started to ring. "Hello."
"Is this Rory?"
"Yes. Who is this?" She couldn't place the woman's voice.
"This is Alexis Davis-Jacks, we met briefly yesterday."
"I remember." Rory settled back on the bed, she was still too weak to stand for a long time.
"Lieutenant Taggert called and requested an interview with you." Alexis thumbed through some papers on her desk. "Your doctor cleared it, but I wanted to see if you were up to it. If not I can stall him."
Rory's eye fell on the door and she saw Jason's jacket was gone. "I'd rather get it over with sooner rather then later. Can you set it up right away?"
"Yes, I'll meet with you in a half an hour, then we'll let Taggert in."
"Okay I'll see you then." With any luck she could have Taggert out of here before Jason returned from wherever he was. "Goodbye Alexis." She couldn't help but notice Carly's eye roll. "Problem?"
"Not as long as I don't have to talk to Alexis." Carly grumbled.
"You two don't get along?"
"Who could get along with a bony assed know it all?" Carly demanded.
Rory smirked. "So I take it she's beautiful and a friend of Sonny's."
"She is not beautiful." Carly shrieked.
Rory could all but smell the jealousy in the air. "If you say so Blondie."
~GH Entrance~
"Dara give me something to work with here." Taggert argued into the cell. "She is traveling with a known criminal, there is no telling what information she might have in those bags."
"Marcus do I have to remind you that Jason Morgan hasn't been convicted of anything?" Dara shifted her briefcase and punched the elevator call button. "Look I'd like to help you, I really would, but your not giving me enough facts that would justify a warrant to open those bags."
"I told you that this was not an accident. As such I should be able to use all avenues available to me, that includes what is in the victims possession at the time of the attack." Taggert began to drum his fingers on the handrail. He still hadn't placed the song Whitey had been humming, but he hadn't been able to get it out of his head either.
"I know, but whatever happened to the car that made her lose control like that, did not originate from the locked trunk where the bags were kept. You don't have enough probable cause. For you to open her bags, you'll need her permission."
"Somehow I doubt that I'll get that." Taggert narrowed his eyes and decided to hit below the belt. "Alexis Davis is her attorney. Are you afraid that you'll get beat by her again?"
"Alexis Davis has nothing to do with this." Dara snapped loudly into the phone, before taking a breath and going on in her normal voice. "If you want to know what the problem is, it's you Marcus. You have gone after Corinthos and Morgan for so many years now, and your methods have been borderline illegal. So now we have to do everything strictly by the book. With all the i's dotted, and the t's crossed, and because of that, I can't give you any leeway here."
"It's nice to know that the DA's office let's itself be dictated to by the criminals." Taggert sniped before hanging up.
~Quartermaine's~
Emily had her eye on her watch, she had never noticed how slowly the second hand actually moved on the dial before now. She had to wait for three minutes before she knew how badly her life was going to change. It felt like three years. With a groan she walked out of the bathroom, away from the waiting stick, and into the other room.
It was strange being in this room, it had once belonged to Jason Quartermaine. Before Jason had left the first time he had trashed it. She could still remember seeing the anger on his face as he threw trophies and clothes that had once been Jason Quartermaine's pride and joy, out of the window. The second time he had left, he hadn't destroyed anything, instead he had driven everyone in the house crazy with his antics. First by bouncing a tennis ball off of his walls, and then by dribbling a basketball on the floor for over 8 hours straight. It was the first time she had ever seen her Grandfather beaten. And Jason had definitely beaten him. He had been able to walk away from the Quartermaine's on his own terms.
She looked around the room, the trophies were back on the dresser, his textbooks that were now over five years old sat on the desk, but there wasn't a speck of dirt on them. Monica had repaired his room after Jason had left. It had become a shrine to her son Jason Quartermaine. For months after he left, Monica had retreated into this room and cried for the loss of her son. Eventually Monica had stopped coming in here, but Grandfather had ordered that the room be maintained and never changed.
It was strange being in here, but it was also nice. Maybe it was because she had only known Jason Quartermaine for less then a year before she had lost him, but it was easy for her to separate the two Jason's in her head and in her heart. Jason Quartermaine was perfect. He was golden in pretty much everything he did. Next to Lila he was the family peacemaker, and he had always tried to protect her, and teach her how not to fall into the Quartermaine way of doing things.
Jason Morgan tried to protect her too, but he didn't try to teach her things. He was just there for her if she fell, which she did pretty often, but he never complained. Jason Quartermaine had loved her and accepted her immediately, but Jason Morgan hadn't. So when he finally did, it meant that much more to her, because she knew she was one of the few people that he had let in. By sleeping in this room last night she had managed to feel close to both of her brothers named Jason, and that had meant so much to her.
Emily glanced at her watch again and realized that it was time. Why had she ever thought that time moved slowly? It was too soon, she wasn't ready to find out if she was pregnant. Somehow she found herself in the bathroom, she closed her eyes and said a prayer then she picked up the stick.
~Room 617~
"So will the fact that I can't remember yesterday help or hurt me?" Rory asked Alexis.
"With Taggert there is no telling, but I wouldn't worry about it." Alexis pulled the glasses from her face and studied her. She looked a lot better then she had last night, but she was still awfully pale below her bruises. The eyes though were sharp, and she doubted that Rory missed much, with them. "Taggert has a blind spot when it comes to Jason and Sonny."
"I noticed that. Anger Boy." Rory mimicked Taggert. "The idiot wanted me to press charges against Jason the other day."
"What?" Alexis still had a smile on her face from Rory's surprisingly accurate imitation of Taggert.
"I met him on the docks, Jason and I were teasing each other, and he thought Jason was trying to kill me. The way he treats Jason…" Rory felt herself getting mad and tried to battle it back. "Anyway if I ever decide to become a criminal I am definitely moving here."
"I imagine you told Taggert that same thing didn't you?" Alexis' read on Rory, was that she was a lot like Carly in that she would say anything. She would have to wait and see if Rory had the control not to say things though. Carly didn't have the ability to stop herself, she only hoped Rory did.
"I did, but I doubt he heard me, he was too busy having a staring contest with Jason." Rory fiddled with the ID bracelet on her wrist. "So with him wanting to see me, does that mean it wasn't an accident?"
"I don't know. It could be follow-up, as far as I know, no one was there but you." Alexis put her glasses back on and pulled a notebook from her bag. "I will get the police report eventually, especially if it wasn't an accident." She heard a knock on the door and turned to Rory. "Remember what I said, follow my lead."
"Fine as long as you lead quickly, I want him gone before Jason gets back."
Alexis nodded and crossed to the door. "Lieutenant Taggert you're right on time."
Taggert spared her a nod then moved past her into the room. He was pleased to note that Rory did look a lot better then she had last night. "Rory, I'm glad to hear you're going to be okay."
"Really?" Rory cocked her head to the side and closed her expression off, like she had seen Jason do to him. "I thought you were disappointed I wasn't in a body bag. That is what you told Jason wasn't it?"
"You did what?" Alexis turned on him quickly.
Taggert looked from her to Rory, and knew that this was going to be a long interview.
~Clinic~
"He is alert, and he can understand what is happening around him and too him. He can't speak though." Doctor Wilson kept his voice low as he updated Sonny and Jason. "Whatever was used on him severed his vocal chords, and also the membranes that surround the brain. He's bleeding to death inside his head, there's no way we can stop it."
"Could they save him if we took him to a hospital?" Sonny asked, because he would take him there in a heartbeat if it would save him.
"If it could he would already be there." Doc replied. "You can talk to him now, I sent Adam for his sister, hopefully she'll get here in time."
"Thanks doc." Jason said in dismissal. "You want me to question him?"
"No, he's mine." Sonny moved closer to the bed, his eyes drawn to the bloody bandage on his neck. "Hey Manny."
Manny opened his eyes at the voice, and Sonny could read the fear in the dark eyes, and he reached out and took his hand. "You're not alone."
Manny blinked, his lips moved but nothing came out.
"Take it easy. I want you to know, that I will take care of your sister. She won't need for anything." Sonny vowed.
Manny managed a smile at that, then his face contorted in pain.
Jason moved to the other side. "Hey Manny, can I ask you some questions?"
Manny focused on him.
"Why don't you blink once for yes, once for no. Okay?"
Manny blinked.
"Did you see who did this to you?'
Blink
"Did you recognize them?"
Blink. Blink.
"Was there more then one?"
Blink. Blink.
"Tall like Francis?"
Blink. Blink.
"How about short like me?" Sonny asked.
Blink. Blink, he gestured towards Jason.
"My height?"
Blink
"White?"
Blink
"Blonde?"
Blink. Blink, he gestured towards Sonny.
"Black hair?"
Blink
Jason tried to think of other simple questions he could ask, that would give them the information they would need.
"Did he dress like me or like Jason?" Sonny asked.
Manny pointed to Sonny.
"Brown eyes?"
Blink
Sonny could see that Manny was fading, and he didn't want him to waste his last few minutes on earth thinking about the bastard who had killed him. He looked over at Jason and jerked his head to the door.
Jason nodded and headed for the door, at the same time it opened. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw Adam come into the room, followed by a nun. He moved out of her way, as she blew by him and joined Sonny by the table.
Sonny saw her, and realized what Manny's smile had been about, his sister wouldn't need his protection or his help. He watched her whisper to Manny, and whatever she said must have comforted him, because he managed to smile again. He held his hand, the sister held his other, and together they watched Manny take his last breath.
~Room 617~
"Like my client has told you repeatedly, she doesn't remember what happened. I'm sure by now you have gotten a complete rundown on her injuries, so you should be well aware that there is a good chance that she will never remember what happened yesterday. Your inability to grasp this concept leads me to believe that you have some medical condition of your own that needs figuring out."
Rory was glad that Taggert was watching Alexis at that point. She had been doing her Jason imitation, and as such was keeping her answers to one word, with no emotion on her face. But that little zinger from Alexis made her grin. She quickly schooled her features when Taggert looked at her again.
"I just have a few more questions." Taggert ignored the dart and began to tap on his notepad, the song was back in his head.
"Please hurry Lieutenant, if you're beginning to try my patience I can only imagine what you are doing to Rory's."
"Rory do you have any enemies?"
She was quiet while she thought about that, she had a lot of enemies, but were they psycho enough to kill her that was the question. "No one's coming to mind."
"What about threats, have you received any anonymous phone calls, e-mails or letters, recently?"
"No." She tried to block the tapping from her mind. The song was familiar and she was starting to respond to it, but Jason wouldn't respond to things like that, and at the moment she was Jason.
"What about Jason Morgan?"
"What does he have to do with this?" Alexis interrupted.
"She is his girlfriend, she might be in the position of knowing if someone wanted to hurt him, and went after her instead."
"She's not a mind reader Taggert." Alexis continued to glare at him, that damn tapping was driving her nuts, she could almost find the rhythm to it. "I'm assuming from your questions that this was not an accident. Is that correct?"
Rory drummed her fingers on the bed while she waited for his reply. What the hell was that song, she began to hum under her breath trying to place it.
"I never said that counselor, the preliminary only crossed my desk an hour ago." Taggert hedged.
"But you do know what they're calling the scene." Alexis pressed. "Is it an accident site, or a crime site?"
"It has been defined as a crime scene site."
Rory was only half listening, she already knew that it wasn't an accident, so hearing him hem and haw about it did nothing for her. But that song he was tapping was so close, she could almost picture the video in her head.
"When will it be released so she can get her things?"
"I wanted to ask her about that." Taggert took a breath and went on. "We would like permission to look in her bags, there might be something in them that sheds light on what happened."
"Why? Did the accident begin in the trunk?" Alexis asked then went on quickly. "I'm assuming that they are locked, so please tell me how a locked bag can shed light on what happened to force her over a cliff? You aren't trying to fish again are you Taggert?"
Taggert ignored her and focused on Rory, and noticed she was tapping her fingers on the mattress. That made him aware that he was still tapping his, and he quickly stopped himself. "Do I have your permission?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"She doesn't have to tell you why." Alexis interjected again. She had discovered that Rory did have control over what she would say and wouldn't say. She was flustering Taggert the way Jason and Sonny did, and it was amusing to watch. "I would like them released as soon as possible, and also to receive a copy of the accident report."
"Well we both know, that I don't have to provide that to you." Taggert shot back.
Was it Warrior by Scandal? No that wasn't it, Rory shook her head. What was that song?
"I am her attorney and we will need a copy of the report for insurance purposes." Alexis reminded him sweetly. "So I'll expect that report."
"You'll get a copy of the final, completed report, so far the only reports are preliminary and we are not required to hand them over to you." It was nice to score any sort of victory off of Alexis.
"Mickey." Rory cried out suddenly, causing both of them to look at her.
"Who is Mickey?" Taggert asked. "Is that who could have done this to you?"
"No," Rory laughed. "That's the name of the song you have been annoying us with since you got here." She saw his blank look and went on. "You know. Oh Mickey what a pity you don't understand, you take me by the heart, when you take me by the hand."
Alexis smothered a laugh at Taggert's face when Rory sang the lyrics to him. They did fit the song he had been humming and tapping.
Taggert shuffled his feet and began to close his notebook. "We're done here."
"I would have never picked you for early 80's bubblegum music." Rory shook her head. "Was it the cheerleader's uniform she wore in the video that made you a fan?"
This time Alexis couldn't stop the laugh.
Taggert glared at her and headed for the door. "I'll be in touch if I have any more questions." He didn't even bother to turn around for their response, but the laughter followed him out of the room. Goddamn Whitey.
Alexis wiped the tears from her eyes, that had been hilarious. "Well I think you made an impression that Taggert won't soon forget."
"Hey I was good until then, besides it got him out of here." Rory leaned back on the pillow. "So when can I get my stuff? At the very least I need my purse, if it survived."
"I'll work on that, hopefully I can clear them by the end of the day." Alexis picked up her briefcase and extended her hand. "It's been nice meeting you."
"You too, I'm at Jake's so send me the bill there."
Alexis paused at the door. "Don't worry about that, Jason said he'd pay."
She was gone before Rory had a chance to correct her. Jason would not be paying for her.
"Finally," a pretty dark haired nurse walked into the room. "I was afraid your meeting was going to last forever."
Rory eyed the basket the nurse was carrying suspiciously, it looked like there was needles in there. "I can call them back."
Gabriella pulled on her gloves. "Don't worry I'll be gentle."
"What exactly are you going to be gentle with me about?" Rory demanded, when she saw the nurse pull some plastic tubing from her basket.
"I need some blood." Gabriella tied the plastic band around her arm, then tapped on her skin checking for a vein.
"Peachy, more needles." Rory turned her head away. "If it gets me out of here, you can have a pint."
"This place is a bit dead isn't it?"
"Choice description." Rory felt the needle enter her skin but didn't react.
"There we go." Gabriella closed the vial off, put it in her basket and put a Band-Aid on Rory, before checking her chart again. She pulled out a pair of tweezers and a glass slide.
Rory had her eyes closed when she felt a yank on her arm. "Hey." She looked down at her arm but the nurse had already moved. "What did you do?"
"I need some tissue for a…"
"I hear you're impatient to leave." Tony Jones entered the room, cutting off the nurse.
"Never more so then right now." Rory commented as he moved closer. "You inspire me to get the hell out of here."
~Elevator~
Emily drummed her fingers on the elevator panel at the back of the car. There were far to many people in this car, but thank god her parents weren't there. She was skipping school again, and she knew she wouldn't get away with that again. But there was no way she would be able to concentrate on school, not now.
"Excuse me." No one moved. "I said excuse me." She snapped, and pushed her way off of the elevator. She saw Francis standing down the hall, and tried to walk towards him casually, but when he turned to look at her fast approach, she knew she had failed. "Hi Francis."
"Are you okay Ms. Quartermaine?" Francis looked past her to see if someone was following her.
"I'm fine." She pointed to the door. "Is Rory still here?"
"Yes, the doctor just left." Francis was reaching for the door handle, but she beat him to it, and hurried in the room, closing the door in his face.
Francis shook his head, he was so glad that he only had brothers.
"Rory?" Emily cried when she saw the room was empty. "Where are you?"
"Chill Emily, I'm right here." Rory walked out of the bathroom, pulling a brush carefully through her hair.
"Thank god."
"You took the test." Rory studied her new friend. "What was the result?"
"You know it's a simple test. I bought the most accurate one, but the easiest one I could find." Emily explained pacing around the room. "A plus sign appears if your pregnant, a minus sign if your not. It's that simple, how could you mess it up?"
"So what did you get?" Rory perched on the bed.
"A squiggly." Emily wailed and collapsed in the chair.
"A what?"
"It's a squiggly line, it's not a plus or a minus, it weaves." Emily buried her face in her hands. "What am I going to do?"
"Well…" Rory stopped herself before she started to laugh, she cleared her throat and tried again. "I think."
Emily looked up when she heard the snort. "You're laughing? My life may be over and you're laughing?"
"I'm sorry Em." Rory gasped. "But a squiggly?"
"That's what it was." Emily tried to hold onto her outrage, but a giggle was forming in the back of her throat.
"What exactly does a squiggly look like?"
Emily burst out laughing at that, and Rory joined her.
"Laughter is the best medicine." Nurse Melissa Bedford commented, when she opened the door, and pushed a wheelchair through it.
Emily wiped at her tears and tried to stop laughing. "Yes it is."
"I take it those are my wheels to freedom?" Rory asked picking up the bag Carly had brought her, she had wrapped her parents photo in there carefully, but other then that it was empty, the clothes she had been wearing were now lining the trashcan.
"Yes, Dr. Jones says you're out of here."
Rory crossed to the wheelchair and got in. "Well let's leave before he turns into an idiot again and changes his mind."
Francis stepped back in surprise when Rory was wheeled out with Emily trailing her. He figured she wouldn't leave without Jason. He picked up his coat from a chair and trailed them down the hall.
Rory's eyes caught him when she left the room, but she didn't pay him any attention until he began to follow them. She looked back at him.
"That's Francis," Emily whispered. "I used to have such a crush on him. I would have done anything for him to be my guard. But he never was."
"Guard?" Rory asked softly.
"Yeah, the last time I had a guard was right before Sorel's trial, then I had Max, he was pretty cute too. But you never forget your first out of the world crush, and for me that was Francis." Emily sighed and looked back at him, she saw him pull a phone from his pocket and glared at him until he put it away.
"Emily I don't have any money could I borrow some until tomorrow?" Rory asked quietly.
"Sure." Emily dug in her bag and pulled out a twenty.
Rory managed to grab it and tuck it away before Francis joined them on the elevator. She smiled benignly up at him, but didn't say a word. If Jason put a guard on her without telling her, she shook her head, no he wouldn't do that to her.
"Thanks Melissa." Rory said when the reached the door. She got to her feet, and gripped the bag with her good hand.
"Nice to meet you Rory." Melissa backed the wheelchair up and ran into Francis. "Sorry."
"It's okay." Francis tried to step around her, and out the door, but a group of people was entering the building at the same time, and he had to wait for them to come through. He tried to keep an eye on Rory and Emily outside, but the light reflecting on the door made it difficult for him to see.
Finally he stepped through the door, and his heart stopped when he saw Emily standing on the curb with Rory nowhere in sight. "Where is she?"
"She got a cab." Emily turned to look at him, and could read the anger on his face. Even angry he was cute. "I tried to stop her, but she was gone."
Francis ran a hand through his hair, he was so dead.
~Jake's~
"Rory are you okay? I heard you had an accident." Jake called when she saw her walk into the bar.
"I'll live, the reports of my demise were premature." Rory smiled at her, but kept walking to the stairs.
"Did the guys forget something? Is that why your back?"
Jake's question stopped her in her tracks. "What do you mean forget something?"
"Some of the guys, came in yesterday and took all of your stuff out. Jason sent the key and said you wouldn't be staying here anymore." Jake could tell by the look on her face that this was news to Rory. Damn Jason was in for it.
"Did he happen to mention where I was going to be living?"
Jake winced at the tone, yep Jason was in for it. "Probably his penthouse. Why don't you call him sweetie?"
"No. Thanks Jake." Rory headed back for the door. Anger was slowly taking the place of the aches and pains in her body. That slow anger turned to full burn when she opened the door and spotted a black stretch limo pulling into the lot. She stayed by the door and waited.
Johnny appeared first, then Sonny, Jason remained absent.
"Rory." Sonny crossed to her. "You left the hospital before we could get there. I'm sorry you came here." He held out a hand to his car. "You don't even have a coat, let's get out of here. You must be freezing."
Rory looked at him for a long minute, before moving past him towards the open car door, that Johnny was standing by.
Sonny got in the car beside her. "Max turn the heat up." He looked at her, she still seemed so pale, fragile. "I wish you would have waited for Francis, he could have saved you a trip."
Rory remained quiet.
"I got a hold of Jason, he'll meet us at the penthouse, we didn't think you would get released this soon, or he would have been at the hospital." He wondered why she wasn't talking. It was true that he didn't know her that well, but he did know that her being quiet wasn't a good thing. His eyes met Johnny's and he shrugged. "Are you warm enough?'
Rory nodded and kept her focus on the window. Sonny gave up trying, and the rest of the ride to the penthouse was quiet.
Rory stepped off the elevator and looked towards the left, and saw a frowning Francis looking at her, from his post by the door. She smiled slightly at him then followed Sonny into the room.
Her silence was unnerving. "This was Jason's place. The furniture is his." Sonny began to speak. "Alexis used to live here after Jason, but when she remarried she took her stuff with her. So we got Jason's old stuff out of storage. I'm sure he'll let you change anything you don't like."
She walked farther into the room, and saw the white couch set, she knew it would be comfortable, but she didn't stop. The room was completely decorated, but there was little color in the room.
"The electronics are a few years old, but they can be replaced easily enough." Finally fed up with her silence Sonny asked her something. "Rory are you okay?"
"I'm fine Sonny." She turned to face him. "But I think I'll lie down for a bit, I'm a little tired."
Sonny smiled in relief, of course she was tired. "The master bedroom is at the top of the stairs first door on the left."
"Thank you." She began to head up the stairs. She just needed some time alone to figure out why Jason had pulled the rug out from under her without any warning. She just needed some time to get past the worst of the hurt and anger before she saw him.
"Thanks Francis." Jason said when he walked through the door, his eyes sweeping the room for Rory. He had broken every speed limit he'd seen trying to beat her here, but in the end he had been too late. He saw her on the stairs. "Rory." He crossed over to her.
"I'm going to go rest now." Rory avoided his eye, just walk away, just walk away, the mantra reverberated in her head.
"Are you okay?" He reached out to touch her arm, but she shifted so her arm in the sling was closest to him and he dropped his hand. "Rory?"
Rory turned on him then and smiled bitterly. "Jason the next time you want to fit me for a fucking leash ask me first." She snapped then turned away and headed up the stairs.
"Rory." He called after her, and was heading up the stairs, when he heard a door slam. "Oh man."