17 Date with Destiny
Jo hadn't, to everyone's surprise, retreated back inside herself after the attack on Rae and Anneya. Instead her anger had exploded forth as soon as Jesse had taken his wife and child home. Mark had left at the same time and, with David upstairs taking care of his daughter, she'd had no one to worry about offending or upsetting.
Now, on the Wednesday morning the anger was still with her and, although she was trying to think of other happier things as she got ready to go see Jayden, Steve could tell that she wasn't succeeding and he thought back to the previous morning when she had let fly for the first time.
The decaffeinated coffee she had been drinking was finished, and she slammed the cup down onto the saucer smashing the latter and then sweeping the whole lot onto the floor.
"Jo, Honey, don't." Steve was on his way back in from seeing their guests out as he heard and saw the crash.
"An' what am I supposed to do then, Steve? I can't do what I want, which is blow his brains all over the nearest wall, I can't go runnin' after him, even if I knew where he was, which I don't, I have no idea how else to repay him for all the thin's he is doin' to me an' mine. So trust me, right now a broken saucer an' a bad mood are way nicer than he deserves."
Steve looked at his wife; she was trying so hard to keep herself under control that she was shaking. He understood her feelings of vulnerability, he was feeling that way himself, and not just about Wayne. The antics of Dominic were gradually wearing away at him and although he hadn't said anything, the prospect of a Captain's chair was very pleasant, but the prospect of never catching this guy, or getting Wayne off their backs wasn't, and he knew he had to deal with both things first. His anger though was too near the surface for him not to let it out, at least momentarily.
"And you think I don't feel that way? You don't think that when I see you like this, hurting, scared, that I don't want to kill him too?" His voice had raised, his hands clenched into tight fists and he had suddenly growled and turned away his words still flung out into the air but slightly muffled.
"When you told me about Waco, just the siege itself I wanted to wrap you up, protect you from having to even hear about something like that ever again, but then, then it got worse. I know you want to hurt him, so do I, but we can't, we just have to protect ourselves, keep Daniel and Jayden safe and make sure that the authorities do what we aren't allowed to." For a moment as he turned back towards her he had paused, the look on his wife's face as he opened his heart causing him to pull Jo into his arms, kissing her hair as he tried valiantly to ignore the image of Dominic that came into his mind.
"You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and from you I've got Daniel, Jayden, a whole new way of life, I won't let one man threaten that … or two."
"Two?" Jo had pulled away, the confusion evident on her face and then she had realised, he could tell, before he spoke.
"The Red Rose Killer, I see him in my dreams, he's constantly in my thoughts, I don't know how to beat him, Jo, he's killing and killing, and I can't stop him." Stepping back from her his susceptibility had surprised him, but he guessed that the helplessness he felt in being unable to protect his family from Wayne had linked itself to the helplessness he also felt as he was unable to protect those who had fallen under Dominic's hand and his eyes filled with tears.
"Shhh, I know how much he is hauntin' you right now, but you are a good cop, an' you will get him. Wayne, I … I can't … I don't have the words to tell you how he makes me feel, but just knowin' that you are here, that you will do everythin' in your power to keep me safe, that helps."
His lips had found hers then and for a moment the room was silent before they parted again and he spoke.
"I don't want you worrying, or … or worse, Jo. I wish I knew how to do more to help; I'll get an update on the APB later at work, and I'll get on to the Texas police, see if they have any outstanding warrants, or anything at all on him."
"Then we have to try an' forget about him for now. I don't know how we are gonna be able to do it, but we have to, together, because if he was watchin' before he will be watchin' again, an' I have no intention of him knowin' just how scared he has made me."
The APB, which had been put out on Wayne McCaulay and the information Jo had provided, had been sent to the Houston Police Department, the Texas State Police, and the Texas Rangers. To start with Rae hadn't wanted to report the incident at all. Not because she didn't want Wayne to get caught, she did, but her friendship with Jo was too important and she didn't want her to suffer because of something that had happened to someone else.
Anneya had remained silent since the incident, although she no longer spoke because of her deafness, now she made no signs either, doing nothing but sleep or hold her mother's hand as she did simple things such as colouring. Rae had called Captain Newman and requested permission to work from home on the Thursday, even though she was sure she would be well enough to go to the station. Once the situation with her daughter had been explained to her superior officer he had been fine, and so Rae had arranged to drive in and pick up some of her casework, with her little girl in tow, and then come straight home again.
ooo
Now though it was Wednesday afternoon, Jesse had slept the morning away and headed off to work a little after three bemoaning the late shifts he had to do, but grateful that he had been able to rush home the previous day to be with his wife and child. Anneya was fast asleep on the sofa as Rae read through the papers she'd collected, and Jo, back from spending three hours with Jayden, had arrived to enjoy some time with her friend although by the way she was slowly and painfully pacing the room enjoyment seemed a long way off.
"Texas, please, sit down, none of this is your fault, let's face it, I've attracted my fair share of kooks over the years, it's only right you should have one as well."
"Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better!" Jo's reply came quickly, but she was lying, the humour in it did make her feel better, just a little bit and she smiled as she did as she was told and sat down.
"Rae, how do you cope when you're feelin' as if your life is runnin' out of control?" Jo was painfully aware of her stitches and had to stay where she was even though she wanted to be pacing again, walking, chasing, anything as long as she was doing something.
For a few moments Rae considered what she had been asked and realised that if anyone else had presumed her life was out of control at any time she would have been livid. Now though she wasn't angry, just thoughtful. She had never shut down, not in the way that Texas did, preferring to talk things through with either her husband or her therapist.
"I guess I mostly just run with it. You can't do anything else, but other times I talk, I didn't use to, I would keep it inside until I burst, but with Jesse…" For a moment Rae paused again, thinking back, it seemed, almost a lifetime, to her first case in LA, the day when, after reading the diary of a young girl who had been killed, she had finally begun to talk to her then boyfriend and ever since she had tried to share things with him when she felt the world getting on top of her. It hadn't always happened that way, because, as Texas said, their lives had a habit of running out of control, but when she did talk to him about things she always felt better afterwards. "Sometimes, even if you do talk it doesn't help, doesn't work, then you do lose control, at least I do." Rae paused, offering help came naturally to her, but she knew that Jo wasn't always good at taking it. This time though she knew that her friend had so many problems that something had to give.
"Honey, you know all of your friends will sit and listen to you, help you through this. Any one of the problems you have would be overwhelming on its own, but the three, well, I don't know where I would start to analyze and try to solve them."
"I have to leave Jayden in the hands of the doctors. I know they are doin' their best to keep him alive, an' he is gettin' on so well that, in one way, I worry about him less than I do David or Wayne."
Jo had explained David's problems to Rae as they enjoyed a cup of tea after she had first arrived at Oak Place. Now, with the two friends knowing as much as the other about each difficulty, the room was comfortably silent as they both processed their thoughts.
"David is sure that Debbie is behind the fraud in Texas?"
"Yep, said that it couldn't be anyone else. Mary, his secretary, has been there since the year dot, in fact I think she came with the buildin', David wouldn't be able to run the place without her an' trust me she is paid enough that she doesn't need to steal. She also knows that she could name her price an' Davie would pay it."
"And there isn't anyone else who has that type of information at their fingertips?" Rae's question was met by a shake of the head.
"Well, apart from me an' Steve I guess. But I'm richer than David, so is Steve, indirectly, an' I have no wish to destroy the man."
"Ok. Now, I know you've never liked Debbie but, apart from that, is there any reason why she would want, as you said, 'to destroy the man'?"
"No, but I just know that is what she is tryin' to do. Steve told you about the credit card, right?"
"No, but Michael did. You think that was her too?" For a moment Rae was stunned. "Why would she do that?"
"I have no idea, I wish I did. I know I wasn't nice to her, not like y'all were, welcomin' her into the family, but there was somethin' about her that I never liked, not from the first time I saw her."
"People say that you never get a second chance at a first impression, but also sometimes you never change your opinion of that first impression. I guess you were the one who was right this time and we were wrong."
Jo smiled sadly; she wished she hadn't been correct. She loved her brother, had wanted to love his wife, to have a sister, even if it was a sister-in-law, but that hadn't happened.
"So, how is that son of yours?" Rae knew that the change in subject would be welcome, and also knew that however worried her friend was she wouldn't be able to resist talking about her new baby. Rae was right, Jo's face, which had been taut with concern relaxed and broke into a huge smile.
"He is just doin' so well. D'you wanna see some pictures?" She began to rummage in her purse and Rae, relieved to feel the tension recede, nodded her head and waited.
ooo
By the time her shift finished Susan was so excited that she wasn't sure she would be able to walk home, wanting instead to run, even skip some of the way, but she managed to control herself, laughing instead at her silliness.
The apartment was quiet, as the hallways had been, when she arrived home and she enjoyed the preparations for her evening out, taking her time and singing along to the music she had put on the CD player.
It had been a long time since she had been on a proper date. The trip to the movies with Jesse had been a non-starter, and before that she had been married. Her husband had taken her out, but they were no longer dating and so the excitement, the anticipation that she was feeling right now hadn't been there.
After she and Nika had parted company Susan had bought herself some wonderfully scented bath oil as well as candles and an amazingly expensive face pack. Now, looking greener than Shrek she was laying back in the warm water, bubbles up to her neck more relaxed and happy with herself than she had been in a long time.
The track she had been humming to finished and suddenly 'The Power of Love' came on instead and singing lustily she looked at her clothes neatly laid out on her bed through the bathroom door and eased a little further into the water.
Across town Dominic-Matthew was going through his own ritual. The clothes were hung on the fronts of the closets, the two roses were laying on the dressing table, the candles lit around them and he sat with the photograph album in his hand slowly turning the pages, enjoying the faces of all the girls he had known over the years, all the girls he had watched, coveted and then controlled.
As the pictures changed he saw Krista, then Leigh Ann, there was Nadine, Jenna, Samantha and then finally after he sat looking at Tanisha for the longest time he slowly turned the page so that the one was looking out at him.
The anger he felt as he thought of her short, awful hair consumed him and for a moment his hand clenched the side of the album creasing the sheets and bending the photos. He willed himself to look back at her, at the hair, which hung down her back, beautiful and golden, thick and heavy. Then he thought of Susan, the way she had appeared to him as she came out of the changing rooms, the dress, beautiful on her lush body made all the more erotic by the hair hanging over her shoulders and down her back, and how the temptation to reach out and touch it had almost been too strong to resist.
He had been watching her from a distance ever since, knowing now where she lived, when she went to work, when she went home. He knew that she walked both ways, that she lived alone and that she heightened the fire, the passion inside him, and for a moment he went back to the front of the album to look at the pictures he already had of her. He saw her walking through the hospital grounds, the very hospital he had been born in, saw the confident way she held herself, the far away look she sometimes had in her eyes, as if she was thinking about something or someone else. The anticipation rose in him again and he ran a finger across one of the photos before closing the book and laying it on the nightstand with a sigh.
Dominic-Matthew reached out for one of the blooms and, as he always did, held it in the flame and watched it burn.
ooo
Daniel sat quietly in the NICU and watched his brother in wonder. He had never seen any photos of himself as a baby in fact he didn't remember seeing any pictures of himself until the ones from school started arriving. It wasn't that his birth mom hadn't loved him; at least he didn't think it was and, until now, it hadn't bothered him, but it would be nice to have a picture of himself to compare with his little, and he did mean little, brother.
"Hi." His dad came and sat down, Daniel had left him to find a parking spot and then have a quick word with Jesse while he went on up to the small hot ward.
"Hi." Daniel had gotten used to whispering in this place now, everyone did it and so he no longer felt stupid. "He's asleep, but the night nurse, Diane, she said that he's been just fine since Mom left, and that she'll be over to speak with you some time before we leave."
Steve smiled and then looked back down at his other son. Jayden was still almost too tiny, too perfect to be his, and the fear, which followed him constantly, that he would be unable to protect either of his children or his wife, rose in his throat. He had woken up from disturbing dreams almost every night since Jayden had been born and when they hadn't been about work then the same unseen danger had stalked his family instead, terrorising it and he had been powerless to do anything. Jo didn't know he was dreaming in this way. She had slept soundly enough that he didn't wake her and not wanting to upset his wife he hadn't mentioned them.
"Dad, are you ok?"
Steve felt his elder son touch his arm and looked up quickly. "Yeah, just a few miles away, why?"
"You looked, I don't know, worried, I guess. Is … is Jayden ok, and Mom?" The insecurities that he tried to hide from his parents surged forward and the uncertainty filled his eyes.
"What? Oh, yeah, I was just thinking about how small he is." Steve tried to cover up his concerns and then thought of something he had wanted to ask for a day or two. "Do you know how small you were? Or against Jayden how big?"
For a moment it was Daniel who was very quiet and Steve wondered whether he had said something he shouldn't. But he and Jo really had very little idea of what his life had been like before he came to live with them; maybe, he suddenly realised, it was because Daniel wanted it that way.
"Is there any way you can find that stuff out? I … I have no idea what I weighed, or what I looked like, it just never came up, I'm sorry."
"No, I am. That was insensitive." He paused for a moment as he processed his thoughts, "Look, you know this guy we are searching for, the Red Rose Killer, the press call him." Steve saw Daniel nod, an expression of confusion now on his face. "Well, Grandpa was able to discover where he was born, and when, so I'm sure he will be delighted to do the same for you."
The smile that lit up Daniel's face caused the embarrassment and discomfort that Steve felt to disappear. "When we leave here we'll go to his office, if he isn't there we can leave him a note."
"And you think he'll find it?"
Steve stifled a laugh, not sure what it would do to all the monitors, or the parents carefully watching them. He knew that Daniel was wrong though, however untidy or chaotic looking his father's office was, he would find the piece of paper almost immediately, knowing that it was new and important instinctively.
The two of them grew silent then, watching the youngest member of their family as he continued his fight for life, and Daniel hoped that he would realise just how lucky he had been to be born a Sloan.
ooo
Susan had debated taking a cab to the movie theatre, but in the end, knowing that the paths through the hospital were well lit day and night she had decided to walk instead. The grounds, always pleasant and nicely kept, somehow seemed even more so as her life and the world around her took on a rosy hue that matched her mood. Her high-heeled pumps clicked and clacked on the ground and as another nurse passed her going the other way they made eye contact and smiled at each other. The next person she saw was a doctor who worked with her occasionally and they stopped and talked for a moment or two before he wished her a pleasant evening and went on his way.
By the time Susan was back on the sidewalk it was almost time to meet with Nika. He had told her that, as they had only met the once, he would be wearing black jeans, a white button down shirt and a blue jacket with a rose bud in the lapel.
There were lots of cars in the parking lot of the multiplex and Susan made her way carefully across the road towards the main entrance wondering whether Nika would drive her home or if she would have to get a cab. Taking the time to look around herself she spotted two taxicabs one going in either direction and knew that she would have no trouble getting a ride.
There were plenty of couples going into the building, some holding hands others walking side by side, there were children with their moms and dads going towards the entrance to screen one where a Disney movie was advertised. Susan wasn't sure exactly where the movie she was seeing was playing and so she looked up at all the different posters to give herself a clue.
"Well, hi, I'm glad you came." The voice, suddenly in her ear, made her jump and she turned to find herself face to face with her date, who she had to admit looked good enough to eat. "You look beautiful; I wondered whether you might wear the dress."
"Thank you." Susan felt herself blush. She wasn't usually the shy type, preferring to take the lead in the relationships she had but somehow this guy made her feel more than happy to be wooed and complimented. "I figured if we were gonna sit in the dark for half the evening it would be a waste, but then I figured why not."
"That's true." Dominic-Matthew nodded and enjoyed the view. Susan stood still for a moment, pleased that she had changed her mind about what to wear. The top of the dress, soft and silky, fell in pleats below her throat, and he could see the outline of her breasts so perfect beneath it. But it was her hair that captured him; she had carefully curled the ends, and caught either side with tortoiseshell clips. Mentally drawing back from the images that rose in his mind, of her naked and compliant beneath him, he spoke again. "There's a show starting in about an hour, shall we go eat? I went and checked and they serve pretty much everything here, all in the same place."
Susan nodded her agreement and ten minutes later found herself sitting, a glass of chilled white wine in front of her, waiting for her pizza to arrive. Nika had ordered a lasagne and as they chatted happily he began to ask her about herself and she replied easily, telling him a little about her time in Kuwait and how much she was enjoying being home again.
ooo
By the time Diane had chatted with Steve and Daniel and they had left their note in Mark's office they were getting hungry. Coming out of the main entrance to the hospital Steve had smiled and suggested that maybe it would be a good idea to go get a burger and see a movie before heading home, so that Jo could have some time with her brother without them around.
Daniel had been delighted to agree, there was a week long showing of the Lord of the Rings trilogy at the nearby multiplex and, as he hadn't seen the final part yet, it only took a little persuasion before the two of them were making their way there and leaving the car in the parking lot.
Because each movie was so long and they were being shown in sequence they started and finished at different times from the other films being shown. The restaurant was almost empty when they arrived and once their tickets had been reserved they made their way to a table as far from the entrance as possible and made themselves comfortable.
Once they were settled they ordered their burgers and fries with a soda each and then Steve pulled the digital camera out of his pocket that he had used at the hospital. He and Jo had decided that they would take photos every day, wanting to look at them at home to see how he was changing, growing, getting stronger and stronger.
This time the photos also concentrated on Daniel who, for the first time, had been present when his brother had needed changing. Even though Jayden had been out of the isolette already that day Diane had carefully laid him in Daniel's arms once he was sweet smelling again.
The breast milk he was getting had done disgusting things to his diapers and, no matter how much Steve or Daniel loved him, getting close when he was being cleaned up was no longer an option.
The picture, which came up on the viewing screen, was Steve's favourite. One of the advantages of the digital age was that you no longer got a pile of pictures with people's eyes closed and mouths open and he had deleted many strange photos in the last few days. This shot though had just presented itself to him and he had pressed the button. Now he looked at Daniel's smile as he faced the camera and Jayden, almost as if he too had known, was looking at his dad as well, eyes open and face relaxed. Steve knew that before the evening was out he would have enlarged and printed it as well as leaving instructions for Juan to buy a frame and hang it in the morning room.
Daniel had scooted his chair around next to his dad and for a few moments they watched the pictures change as Steve scrolled through them and then a thought struck him and he smiled a wicked smile.
"You know, when we get home you could send these to Great-Aunt Dora, I know she would be just delighted to see them. I'll bet she'll even call to thank you." Quickly he moved his chair back round the table so he could see his father's expression.
"I could suggest that she come and help Juan look after you while your mom and I are back and forward to the hospital when I send them. What d'you think?" Steve's smile was broad as he enjoyed seeing his son squirm instead of him and then he smiled up at the waitress as their meals were served the contest tied but not over.
ooo
The note that Steve and Daniel had left in Mark's office had both thrilled and saddened him. He was thrilled that he could do something to help his grandson, but saddened to think that he knew so little about himself. Mark knew that Jo and Steve had a copy of the birth certificate at home, but also knew that now wasn't really the time to call and ask for the details from it. Instead he picked up the phone and dialled the familiar number for the precinct and asked for Cheryl's extension.
After a minute or two of general conversation and pleasantries Mark got down to business and Cheryl promised to call him back within the hour. Once that was done Mark began to think about his eldest grandson. The day that Steve had been born had been the happiest of his life, when Carol had been born a few years later his contentment had known no bounds. On both occasions he had taken copious photos and then he and Catherine had spent many happy hours sorting them through and, over the years, looking and enjoying them over and over again. There were movies too, home movies which charted the growth of his children, the beauty and dedication of his wife and the family life which they had taken such pleasure in.
Some of that was available to Daniel now, for a technophobe Steve wielded a mean digital camera and so there were pictures available as well as movies of vacations, visits to the beach, school celebrations and family occasions. But it was almost as if the boy had no past. Being fostered and then adopted was difficult, but surely, out there somewhere, must be information, pictures, even members of his birth family.
Mark wasn't naïve enough to think that the perfect first family existed for Daniel; if it did then he wouldn't be a Sloan, but if maybe he could find out some things he might be able to make up a scrapbook, even if it was of national and international events that had happened in his lifetime, just to give the boy a sense of history, of self.
The ringing of the phone shook him out of his thoughts and reaching over and lifting the receiver to his ear Mark heard the pleasant tones of Cheryl on the other end and listened with hope to the information she had to impart.
ooo
Susan had never been a huge Leonard di Caprio fan, but she had enjoyed 'The Aviator' with the rest of the audience. Nika had been attentive although not overly so. Resting his arm along the back of her seat but not putting any pressure on her. In the end she had leant back against it and felt his hand gently squeeze her shoulder.
The chocolates he had purchased were soon eaten, and he had slid the box underneath the seat. The scent from the rose in his jacket had been heady, beautiful and she had smiled gratefully when he had offered the peach coloured bloom to her.
Now, as they walked back out towards the darkness, she looked around to see if he would make towards the parking lot or whether she should get ready to hail a cab.
"How did you get here?" Nika spoke quietly, his arm around her waist pulling her close enough that he didn't have to raise his voice against the swell of conversation all around them. The lobby was packed and Susan could see that the only theatre not disgorging its occupants was showing the final part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which she had already seen.
"Sorry? Oh, I walked. I only live the other side of the hospital. It's about ten minutes from here."
"In that case, may I walk you to your door?" Nika made a little bow and was rewarded by a giggle from Susan. They had kissed in the movie theatre, his lips feeling soft and gentle against her own as his goatee rubbed her skin, his fingers running through her hair causing her to shiver and the prospect of spending even another few minutes with him was a good one.
"Thank you, that would be a lovely end to a wonderful date." Susan smiled and took his hand into her own and they began to make their way through the parked cars towards the sidewalk and the bright lights of the hospital in the near distance.