For the rest of the day, and most of the evening, he poured himself into his work. Afterwards, he went to a bar that he frequented.
"My married life is prime Donahue material." He wryly told a bartender after a few shots of scotch.
Jordan, for her part was happy to have her mommy back. It was a treat for the child to have Emily to spend the evening helping her with homework instead of being in bed the whole time.
When Max got home, the couple got into a nasty fight.
"Running away does not solve anything!" he hissed.
"Look…I'm back."
"To see Vincent no doubt." He glared at her.
"I missed you…"
"You sure have a hell of a way of showing it." He slammed his fist on their dresser.
"Maybe we should talk when you're sober" Emily started to back away.
"Maybe you should go live with Vincent. See how long he can put up with you."
As the fight went on, Jordan sadly hugged her teddy bear and tried to cover her ears.
Things were strained in the Cavanaugh household for quite a few days, after which the couple came to a truce of some sort. Summer came, and Emily did lots of fun things with Jordan. They saw movies, went to the park, went to the pool at the Y, etc. However, she still sometimes had her bouts of depression.
"Mommy?" Jordan noticed her mother crying in the living room.
"I'm tired, baby, I'm going to bed."
Suddenly, about two hours later, Jordan felt a harsh grab.
"Baby! You gotta hide in the closet."
"Why?"
"For your own good." Emily's paranoia started to flare up. "Mommy is in danger"
Poor Jordan stayed in closet for hours, as Emily hid in another one(the woman thought it was safer for them to be in separate closets so that if 'they' found her, Jordan might still have a chance.)
Finally, Max came home, and recognized Jordan's sobbing. He broke into the closet, which had been locked.
"Daddy!" Jordan hugged her father.
"Where's your mother?" Max felt angry and horrified.
"She's in danger. Mommy said I had to stay here to keep her safe" The atmosphere of the small dark closet tormented the child.
After reassuring Jordan, he found Emily, hiding in their bedroom closet and in a fetal position.
"Looks like they…didn't show up." He told her, trying to remember that sometimes she couldn't help it. "Come out"
"No!"
"Mommy! Daddy says you're safe!" Jordan happily said as she joined Max at the closet entryway. "Why don't you come out?"
"Mommy needs time to think" the detective responded. "Why don' t you go watch T.V?"
"Okay." The child didn't want to think about the hours she spent in the closet. She hoped to never have to be in a dark, cramped space again.
Emily refused to come out of the closet for the rest of the evening and night. Max closed the bedroom door, and told Jordan that mommy was sleeping.
TBC
