A/N: Mariel to be honest I'm not sure why I put
that in. I think it was something to do with Martin thinking that Danny
was on his side and Danny not wanting to rock the boat by not being
there for him as he thinks he is there for him. It made sense when I
wrote it but then I guess it would do. Thanks for all the reviews, they
really do make my day. Enjoy!
Bartholemews
Nursing Home
22
hours missing
Sam looked around her, taking in the faded paintwork, tired furniture and the distinct odour of urine. This place, while not exactly the rat-infested hellhole that it could have been, wasn't exactly the Renaissance hotel either. By all accounts Anthony adored his mother and that image did not equate to the surroundings she was in.
"Thank you, if you wouldn't mind," Jack sighed to the receptionist.
His tone, to all outward appearances, was sincere but Sam knew better. This was Jack at his most sarcastic. He'd just spent five minutes trying to get the receptionist to at least call the head nurse. It had only been when he'd threatened to charge her with impeding a Federal investigation that she'd relented.
"I swear these people take a course in how to infuriate a Federal officer. Protecting patients' privileges, what a load of bullshit," Jack hissed under his breath.
For what felt like the first time in years, Sam suppressed a smile. Right now everything was normal between them, the way it had been before his announcement - a time when they could enjoy each others company without there being awkwardness and confusion. True, that time hadn't contained the many defining moments of their relationship. Those moments had been before, back when Jack's marriage was firmly on the rocks, the time when his wife should have ended it. Instead she hadn't and those glorious moments that she and Jack had shared had ended, pushed aside because it was the right thing to do.
Oh, she understood all right. Jack had to try and make it work; it was the type of man he was. He believed strongly in family values, that children needed to be brought up with a mom and a dad. At least that was the official reason he gave for sticking with it so long. But it wasn't the true one. The reason was still his daughters but not because of family values. She had found out the same day the rest of the office had, she'd been slightly upset at the time that he'd never told her, particularly when she thought about all the things that she'd told him. Then she'd understood and everything had started to make sense, causing the pain to ebb slightly.
His mother had left him by killing herself. Therefore Jack couldn't leave his daughters. True, his separation from his mother was permanent, whereas he'd still get to see Hanna and Kate. However, Jack had also suffered from an absent father. While many could say, herself included, that he made himself an absent father by working the hours he did, Jack didn't think of it like that. He thought that if he still slept at home most nights then he was there, not like his father who was away for months at a time with that army. All these facts caused her to understand why their relationship had ended. That hadn't stopped it from hurting though.
Over the year they had been separated she'd thought she'd moved on. Her thoughts had stopped drifting to Jack, her heart ceased to ache. Then came the announcement. 'My wife was offered a really good job in Chicago and she took it, so she's moving there and I have decided to go with her.' That one sentence made a lie of her moving on. She knew that, it was a fact. That one sentence, spoken so calmly, with so much detachment, made it feel like she'd been shot again, only this time it was her heart that screamed with pain, not her thigh. For the first time ever, she'd allowed her emotions to show at work, she'd cried. The only other time she'd come close to breaking down was after he'd told her it was over. That time, even though the statement had been final, it carried no finality with it, hope had sprung eternal. That announcement though, it had sounded as final as hell. He had been going to move a thousand miles away, to another city. There had been no hope, although thinking back she should have known, nothing with Jack was ever truly cut and dried. His saying 'it ain't over till it's over' should have come to mind.
As it was she'd lost hope, she'd lost Jack. The fact that he was here, in New York, to stay threw everything she'd felt and thought out of the window. He was single now. That thought sent a shiver down her spine. However, did she still want him? More importantly did Jack even still have feelings for her? Then there was Martin who complicated this complicated situation even more. True she'd told him it was over, that it had been a one night stand, something not to be repeated. She could tell he still had feelings for her though, which was more than she could say for Jack.
It was all just so confusing. What made one sense one day didn't make sense the next. One thing was for sure though, that night at the bar she'd acted on impulse. She wasn't going to do that again. Martin would only end up getting even more hurt than he was already, something she didn't want to happen as she did truly care about him. From now on she'd think everything through before acting. Hopefully this damn confusion would clear and help her out of this mess. Just then Jack put a hand on her shoulder, sending a familiar warm feeling to her brain.
"Are you ok?" Jack asked concerned. He'd just spent the last ten minutes talking to the Head Nurse. All that time Sam had stood motionless, staring at a painting that had looked to him when he'd first came in like a blank canvas. Dust and sunlight had faded the countryside scene that had been depicted. However, Sam wasn't into paintings and besides he was fairly certain that she hadn't even noticed that there was one there. That left the question as to why she'd been so deeply lost in thought. A fleeting shadow passed across Jack's face, he didn't want to answer that.
"I'm fine." Sam attempted a smile. She'd noticed the flash of guilt that had crossed Jack's face. This situation was becoming awkward again, in fact she could swear that it was getting more awkward by the day. She didn't remember it being this awkward on the Parker case.
"Ok." Jack didn't look convinced. "The Head Nurse has graciously given us five minutes."
Sam nodded and started to follow Jack down the hall to the communal room. There was no need to ask which one Mrs Bates was as her carer stood next to her chair waiting for them.
"Mrs Bates. I'm Special Agent Jack Malone. This is Special Agent Samantha Spade. We're with the FBI and we'd like to ask you a few questions about your son. Is that ok?"
Jack sat down in the chair across from Mrs Bates, wondering now if he should have offered his hand. Sometimes he did, sometimes he didn't, the situations were normally clear. This wasn't one of them.
Mrs Bates didn't reply which Jack took to be a yes. "When did you last see your son?"
No reply. Jack waited for a long moment before looking at Sam and then at the carer.
"As I'm sure you've already been told Agent Malone, this is a waste of your time. Hilda has advanced Alzheimer's. You do know what Alzheimer's is, don't you?" the carer asked impatiently.
Jack bit his lip, the truth could work here. It might get her to cool the animosity.
"Yes I know what Alzheimer's is. My father was just diagnosed."
"Oh," the carer said, taken aback and completely mollified.
"I also know that Alzheimer's doesn't render people dumb," Jack continued. The carer shook her head.
"No it doesn't. Hilda can still speak. It's just she's reached the stage where she can no longer remember how."
Jack closed his eyes momentarily. He didn't want to hear about it. His father was in the first stages. That meant this was all to come.
Sam, sitting next to him, suddenly had this overwhelming urge to comfort him. Instead she posed the next question.
"Perhaps you can help us then. When did Mr Bates last visit?"
"Three days ago. It was just like usual . . ."
Flashback Nursing home
Anthony Bates walked in the door to the communal room, a bunch of flowers in his hand and a grin plastered onto his face. The carer came over to meet him.
"Good evening Anthony, shall I take these and put them in water?" she asked, smiling at him with a smile that didn't quite meet her eyes. Instead concern resided there. Anthony's mother meant to world to him and as she'd told him two days ago when he'd last visited, she didn't have long left.
"The answer, as always, is yes. How is she?" Anthony handed the carer the flowers, the grin on his face momentarily disappearing letting his true emotions surface. He was anxious, stressed and tired looking, like he hadn't had enough sleep.
"The same," the carer replied. Anthony nodded, sticking the grin back on his face he headed over to sit in the same chair that Jack was sitting in now, before the carer could ask after his health.
End Flashback Nursing Home
"You know he brought her flowers ever week without fail. He thought they brightened up her room. He also always made an effort to be upbeat and cheerful, as if a positive attitude would help."
Jack nodded soberly, wondering if he'd be like that minus the flowers. He'd never really had a very good relationship with his father. That was one of the things he was now trying to rectify. However, maybe because they shared too many of the same qualities, they would always argue more than they talked. Being cheerful around each other was like trying to mix oil and water, it never happened. But if his father changed then maybe it could?
"Did he seem bothered by anything? Was there anything unusual?" Sam continued the interview.
She shot a glance at Jack who had suddenly become fascinated by his shoes. Given Jack's emotional state Vivian should never have sent him here. Although if she hadn't known about his father, then there was a better than even chance, that Vivian didn't know either.
"No, not really. It was just a normal visit. He seemed a little tired, but that could have been because I'd told him the previous visit that his mother didn't have long to live. That would upset anybody but Anthony really was dedicated to his mother."
The carer looked at Sam's sceptical expression and sighed. "I know what you're thinking, this place doesn't look like much. If he truly cared about her he would have placed her somewhere else. But that's not true. He'd really looked into it. While the decor might not be perfect the care given is first class. I've only been here a month but it's the best place I've ever worked. The staff really care about their charges, not just about the check that comes end of every month."
"Right, well thank you for your time." Sam stood up, feeling more than a little uncomfortable. If what the carer said was true then she'd judged on appearances, something she tried desperately hard not to do.
Jack, after a moment, followed suit.
"Thank you Mrs Bates," Jack added just before they left. Just because she had Alzheimer's didn't mean she wasn't a person - a person that they had just ignored, and talked about, as if she wasn't there, even though in a way she wasn't. Nobody saw the silent tear that trickled down her cheek.
