29 And Backwards
Lauren had said nothing for almost two minutes. She watched as her patient willed himself to continue with the consultation, knowing that the time was racing by and there was no way she could allow him to leave in his current state. At last seeing him take a measured breath she began to speak.
"Steve, are you able to continue?" She wanted to move round and sit next to him, wanted to help him fight his demons almost as much as he did but, not knowing him well enough yet to intrude on his personal space, she just sat and waited for his reply.
He knew that the easy answer would be to say no, to finish the session early and just return to work, but he also knew that if he did that he would never come back, and so, shakily but with determination, he looked up at her.
"Yes, I … I don't know how much good I'll be, but yes." The tears were still there, mercifully hidden now, but he could feel the way his throat was tightening and he swallowed hard, hoping that would keep them at bay.
"Ok, I think we need to address this notion of blame for a moment. I have no real idea what happened on that fire escape, except it was horrific and led to the capture of one of the most wanted men in the country. There is obviously more to it than that, so maybe you'd better tell me what you saw."
Steve nodded, inside he knew it all came down to this. The image of Rae on that awful day had been the last straw. The problems at home, with Jayden, David, Wayne, those he had been coping with until that Friday. If he could, finally, let out his feelings then maybe he could also begin to live properly again. Right now, even at home, with his family, Steve felt as if he was slightly out of alignment with them, distanced just enough for it not to be noticed by anyone but him. He didn't want it to be like that, wanted instead to feel he belonged again, but more than that, he needed to feel that way. Jo was his soul mate, the woman he planned to spend the rest of his life with, but they had moved apart, or more to the point he had moved away. Now he had to find his way back. What he had to do was difficult, especially for him, but he had never shirked his responsibilities before and he wasn't about to start now.
"We didn't know who this Matthew guy was; just that Rae had found his name in a journal of another murder victim. Until that moment we had no idea the two might be linked. Now … well …" He trailed off, feeling suddenly disloyal.
"Yes, Captain?"
He looked into the face of the young Asian-American woman in front of him and suddenly knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he could trust her. Swallowing hard he began again, knowing, as well, that he had to speak and that in the end it would be all right.
"There was a coroner's report, Doctor Bentley's report, I don't know why Rae didn't spot the link, Amanda was away, on a course, so she couldn't tell her." He paused again, remembering how the similarities had screamed at him, and wondered whether it was only because he had the benefit of hindsight.
"The victim, his name was Albert, had been stabbed in the back and then had his throat cut. We get one or the other all the time, but the two combined should've screamed Red Rose Killer, or at least a connection to it."
"What you're saying, Captain, is Rae didn't join the two together until she read the journal, but they were definitely linked." She saw him nod and was surprised her friend had missed this, but realised it was only scene setting; it wasn't the cause of Steve's problems.
"Oh yeah, Albert was the janitor of the building where Matthew Little lived. We just didn't know he was our murderer. If we had … well, things would have been done differently, she … she wouldn't have had the chance to fall.
"We realised almost immediately we entered the apartment that this was way more than an interview with a friend of the killer. We had, accidentally, found everything we needed to convict him, apart from the man himself. But we still thought he was just keeping his stuff there, it never occurred to either of us that Matthew and Dominic were the same person.
"He must have come home," he paused for a moment, remembering as he did so his confusion as to why the man hadn't entered through the front entrance, but he knew now why that had happened, "seen something to tip him off that we were in his apartment, I don't know what, but he came up the fire escape. We'd called for backup, and were looking at some of the evidence when … when ..." He stopped, in his mind's eye he could see her, her face draining of colour as she realised that in her hands was the hair of some of the victims.
"She rushed out, I … I didn't want to embarrass her so I stayed back. I didn't even see him until it was too late … I heard her scream but I didn't understand … I ran … I … I think I ran …" His breath was coming in gulps now and for a moment he had to stop talking, his hands were in his hair, grasping it, pulling at it, or just smoothing it back, over and over in a movement he had always associated with his partner, and it seemed as if he was unable to stop himself from repeating it.
"Captain, put your hands in your lap." The voice was soft, but the words were most definitely an order and he immediately obeyed.
"Steve, I know this is difficult for you, but you're almost done, at least I think you are, so please, continue." She had quietly changed the tape in the machine as she spoke, and then made a brief note of how he was reacting, sitting, even breathing before waiting calmly for him to begin again.
"She called my name … oh, God … she wanted me to save her but I couldn't …" There were tears now, but he didn't care, and knew he couldn't stop them anyway. "He … he heard her too, and … and …" Steve was back there, on the fire escape, he could see her, or the little of her still on view, her hands, white around the rails, literally hanging on for dear life, and then the foot, raising, aiming … the bile rose in his throat, but he fought it back down and Lauren, seeing him go a deathly white, was suddenly extremely concerned and moved closer, not knowing how to help but hoping that her presence would be enough.
"He … he kicked her … kicked her hands … I couldn't stop him, and she screamed again … I hear her, at night I hear …" His hands were over his ears now, although Lauren thought that he had no idea of what he was doing. "I … I've moved out of our room, I can't stay, I call for her, I know I do … what will that … How can I do that to Jo?" The return to the present was only fleeting, his focus was still in the past and with almost no break he returned to that scene.
"She hit … oh God, help me, she hit the ground, I heard …" He seemed to almost run out of air, of energy and the final words were spoken by a defeated man, "I heard her … and now … over and over, I just keep hearing her hit the ground." He was spent now, he could feel himself begin to shake, could hear Lauren's voice calling him, but it was too much to even think of answering, and so, knowing that she would understand, he just stopped listening.
ooo
The house had been peaceful for over two hours. Jayden was sleeping upstairs, his nanny spending her down time either reading, on the computer, or keeping the nursery tidy. Daniel had been out since just after breakfast planning to spend the day with Maddie. Juan was answering the phone, but until it rang he too had been undertaking his duties, keeping an eye on the housekeeper and the maid as well as preparing for the weekend.
The sound of the phone ringing had broken Jo's concentration and she paused to take a drink of her rapidly cooling coffee. The table in the morning room was littered with pieces of paper, plastic wallets, manila files and computer discs as well as a laptop computer, printer and scanner, and although it looked like chaos there was some order, to her at least, and she felt that progress was being made.
David had been back and forward from Texas to LA many times since the week of Rae's accident. Debbie, true to her word, had filed not only for divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty but also sole custody of their daughter. The company auditors had gone over the books with a fine-toothed-comb, finding nothing irregular except for the daily payments which David had apparently authorised, but for which no recipient could be found.
The account into which the monies had been placed immediately split up the amount and sent it off in various directions to both Switzerland and the Cayman Islands. Unfortunately so far no further information than that had been discovered.
In the divorce settlement Debbie had claimed half of everything that not only David owned but also anything pertaining to Walters Ranching and Oil stating that she had evidence to prove she was entitled to that, at least, if not more. Jo's job was to find out what evidence her sister-in-law meant because she had the papers going back over the past hundred years or so and could look at the information easily.
Florence Walters, Jo's grandmamma, had instilled in both her and her brother the need to keep accurate records of every dollar they spent because, when they had as much money as the Walters' did, it was a necessary evil to have to account for all of it. The old woman's record keeping hadn't ended with the finances however, and Jo was trawling through pages and pages of information that the Walters' matriarch had kept over her lifetime trying to see if anything there could help her in her quest. On the table before her were the papers relating to the gems in the safe, the letters from Jo's ancestor who had given up her child, as well as other letters and documents that she hadn't even glanced at yet. She had a feeling it could be a very long day.
"Excuse me, Madam, but the hospital is on the phone for you." Juan had come quietly into the room and, seeing that his employer was not concentrating on anything apparent, spoken immediately.
"Oh, thank you." She said nothing more but suddenly her heart was racing. Not only was Rae there, but Steve too, although she thought his appointment would be finished by now. Taking the handset from her butler she held it to her ear and began to speak.
"This is Jo Sloan … yes, yes, I know who you are, but we have never had the pleasure of meetin' … oh my, of course … no he shouldn't, I quite agree … I can be there in …" She paused to check her watch, "about thirty to forty minutes … no, I have a chauffeur … I will arrange that … Can you get a message to Doctor Sloan? Ask him to meet me there …? Thank you." Silently she handed the receiver back to Juan, her face, previously relaxed but focussed, now anxious and full of concern.
"We have to go to the hospital, Steve … I … I'll tell you on the way, I'll just go an' see Jayden, can you get the car ready an' I suppose tell our guard as well?" She watched as the young man before her nodded silently and then, gathering up a pile of the unread papers to look at on the journey to keep her mind occupied, she headed towards the stairs so that she could kiss her sleeping son goodbye before leaving.
ooo
Everywhere he went to get closer to his target he was met with guards or cops. Wayne could see her, getting into the car parked just outside the main entrance to her home, but not only was the new butler standing with her but a security guard, gun on his hip, taking in the entire scene with an experienced eye, as well.
He had decided now that he would kill her. The letters, phone calls, the attack on her friend, none of that seemed to have had the desired effect, she hadn't buckled beneath his attack and so he would have to change his tactics. She must be stronger now than when he had known her before, but she wouldn't be stronger than a bullet or a knife. He smiled as another thought occurred to him. Maybe the son should die first, not the baby, darn thing never left the house, but the boy, the heir to millions, he'd stayed inside for a while but now was forever out and about again enjoying his vacation from school, taking his guard all over LA, losing him sometimes too, he'd seen him in the mall at the end of the street earlier, sitting, just him and his girlfriend, without anyone else in sight who seemed the slightest bit interested in them.
He couldn't let himself be seen or captured and so, almost as soon as his car had stopped, when he realised that his prey was outside her house, he pulled away again, driving off carefully, tinted windows all closed, not wanting to let anyone know that he had been there.
He knew just how to get to the boy, knew that he would be able to carry out his plan without anyone even realising that it was him, until, of course, it was too late, and then, after he had left, no one would be in any doubt about just who had pulled the trigger. The laugh that filled his car was one of pure enjoyment, the slight insanity that it contained a chilling factor not noticed by Wayne and, as he sat waiting for the lights to change, he watched her draw up in her chauffeur driven limo and the laugh grew louder and more maniacal by the second.
ooo
The physiotherapist had arrived in Rae's room just as she was saying goodbye to her husband and daughter. The young woman, who was called Michelle Grearly, was newly qualified but already highly regarded and she watched the scene, from the hallway, with a smile and waited quietly. The little girl, happy and smiling at first, seemed unwilling to leave and she saw the beautiful face become gradually more upset until she suddenly flung herself at her mother, crying and telling her loudly how much she loved her.
Realising that she could maybe help a little bit Michelle came into the room. "Well hi there, you must be Rae's daughter, is that right?"
Eliana looked round at the sound; her face now disfigured with tears and seeing her daddy nod, nodded as well as she continued to cry.
"It looks like you're getting ready to leave." There was a not so dainty sniff from Eliana as she agreed with the new person in the room. "Well, I was wondering, do you think that if you stayed for just a little longer you could help your mommy and me with her exercises?"
The reaction was instant and Eliana moved away from her mother waiting for her instructions.
"You have to promise me though, that when we get through with the ones Mommy needs help with you will go home and let me spend the rest of the time with her by myself."
"K. I promise." The smile was back now, and carefully watching and listening hard, the little girl did exactly as she was told; holding her mother's hand for one exercise, pushing against it for another, until finally, after about ten minutes, Michelle told her that it was time to leave. This time there was no moaning, just a kiss on her mom's cheek before Jesse took hold of his daughter's hand and, mouthing a thank you, left the room with her.
The rest of the half hour session had been far harder than the warm up exercises, and now, left alone again, Rae felt very tired. She felt far more positive than she had done however, and, as she lay back against her pillows, she realised that, although she was still reliant on others and probably always would be, somehow, when she could do little things for herself it didn't seem quite so bad and gradually as her eyes closed she could feel a more optimistic attitude envelope her.
She had no idea how long she had been asleep before she was woken by the tapping of knuckles on the door and she yawned and then carefully turned her head so as not to jar any of her recovering muscles. The two people standing there were welcome visitors and she smiled sleepily and practised one of her newly re-learnt words. "Hi."
"Hello, Rae. How are you feeling today?"
The tablet of paper with the alphabet at the top of each page, written neatly by Jesse, was within her reach on the nightstand and so Rae picked it up a little clumsily and handed it over. Then she pointed to the letter 'b' and watched as the Chief of Police carefully wrote that down on the third line of the page.
Gradually the word 'better' appeared and, never one to use three words when one would do, the chief decided that was a long enough answer and laid down the pen.
Rae's other visitor was Alex and he almost automatically took her vital signs, read figures on monitors and then smiled. "Things are looking good. I know you've recently had a workout, so your elevated blood pressure about an hour ago is to be expected, but overall, this is excellent."
The smile he received as an answer told the young doctor that his plan of action was working very well. The next part of that was about to unfold, and he was a little concerned that it could, initially, cause Rae to suffer a relapse.
Several times since she had begun dictating messages Rae had asked how she had gotten in the hospital as well as what was wrong with her. The answer to her second question had been eagerly given, everyone knowing that she would work her way through her injuries far better if she understood them. The cause of her hospitalization however, had been a different matter. Initially Alex had decided that she wasn't strong enough to hear the details and while she had been on the ventilator, with no chance of communicating either her expected distress or the questions that such a disclosure would result in, the matter had been left well alone. The first step had been to tell Rae that she had been injured on duty, and for a while that had seemed to suffice. Now however, that was no longer the case and John Masters was here to tell her, in any amount of detail she wished, just how she had ended up once again fighting for her life in Community General Hospital, but not until the other people needed for this ordeal were also present.
ooo
The papers in front of Mark on his desk gave him a funny feeling inside. His grandson's request had started him wondering and with Cheryl's help he had begun to collect information on Daniel's past and the events that had surrounded it. Now, piled neatly next to old newspapers and magazine articles were, sadly, only a few details of a childhood that Daniel remembered vaguely. Hopefully the book that Mark was planning to make would change that, and give the boy a sense of place, a sense of belonging.
The past sixteen years had contained a great deal of world history and because of the lack of personal information Mark had decided to weave Daniel's life story in-between national and international events. Cheryl had pulled a few strings and obtained a copy of the photograph the police had used when the boy's mother had disappeared. It was different to the one that Mark knew Daniel had in his nightstand drawer, and that was now on the desk along with three school photos that had taken all of Mark's guile and charm to obtain.
Mark was very careful not to put ex-patients in the position of feeling indebted to him, but many of them had become friends, and were happy to help him out occasionally. One of those was Merv Tillerman, now quite a senior figure in the organization of the city's schools, although when Mark had first met him he had been a high school teacher with a ruptured appendix. When Merv had heard what it was that Mark was trying to do he had dipped into various records and archives, finding not only photos but also copies of report cards and even a few class pictures that showed some of Daniels peers from kindergarten, pre-school and junior high.
All that needed to be done now was to put the newly acquired information with the things that Steve, Jo and Jesse had provided, as well as some great stuff from Alex. Once that was done Mark hoped to present a scrapbook to his grandson, leaving a few pages blank so that he could continue on with it, should he want to. He had just picked up a photo of the boy when he was seven years old when his phone rang. Answering it up almost absentmindedly he listened, his face growing grave, and then, sweeping all the different items into a drawer of his desk he stood up and left the room at a run.
ooo
Cheryl and Ron sat in an empty interview room and looked at the mountain of paper they seemed to have accumulated. The sessions with Dominic, Matthew, or whoever he chose to be at any given moment, were coming to a close and they only had one more planned but it promised to be the most traumatic one for all of them.
The previous day had been spent in a small apartment on the outskirts of Big Bear. They had discussed the possibility of just driving on through and having an impromptu vacation but had decided that not only would they lose their jobs, but divorce and separation might follow. Instead they had done as planned and interviewed the foster sister of Nicholas Large, as she had known him.
Melissa Edwards had been an attractive blonde-haired woman in her mid to late thirties. She remembered Nicholas Large very well, but hadn't connected him to the Red Rose killings in Los Angeles, not paying much attention, she said, to news from that far away. As the journey had taken under three hours both Cheryl and Ron had been a little surprised at her insular nature.
Nicholas had been portrayed as a troubled child, already switching personalities, but only when he was with his sister. Their foster parents had been very disturbed by the small boy's announcement that he had other people living inside of him and taken him from one doctor to another for about six months before he had begged them to just let him be.
"I really thought they would send him away," Melissa had sat, a cigarette in a long holder resting artfully in her right hand, "I had a brother who set fires, he didn't last long. They liked Nic though, so did I, he was my brother for the longest time, I guess in a way he still is. I'd been with Mom and Dad since I was two, Nic arrived when I was about eight and he was seven. He'd been in a coupla homes where they had really treated him bad, in the last one he'd been beaten, ended up in the hospital. That was where Matthew came from. I didn't understand, being only eight, but that's what he said, 'Matthew came with me from my last home.' I wonder why I remember that after all this time." She had shaken her head and half smiled.
"How long did Nicholas stay with your family?" Cheryl had shared Steve's dismay at the news that their killer had a family they knew nothing about, but seeing how sheltered this woman kept herself she was no longer surprised.
"He ran away at sixteen, he'd had enough of school, didn't want to stay in LA any longer. I could understand it, Mom was dying, leukaemia, she was young, only forty-five, he said that those he loved always left him and he was going to leave himself this time, before it could happen to him again. I … I never saw him after that, and Mom, she just faded away right from when he went, felt she had let him down." A tear escaped onto the cheek of the obviously upset woman in front of them and Cheryl had waited while she controlled herself.
"Do you know what he meant by the statement that his loved ones always left him?" It was Ron who had broken the silence, hoping that his question wasn't asked too soon.
"His mom died when he was born, he had no idea who his dad was, didn't really know a whole lot about his mother either. What he did know was that, in his mind, he loved her dearly; she loved him the same way and would have treated him like a king. He couldn't even contemplate the fact that she would have been anything other than perfect. But life isn't like that, is it?"
"No, Ma'am, it isn't." Ron was making notes the whole time he listened. He had known about the birth mother dying, been amazed, although he guessed he shouldn't be, at the fact that Mark had delivered their killer, but he hadn't known about the second mom's death. All his training, his instincts, told him that these two happenings, even though the first one was impossible for Large to remember, had paved the way for the man he had become. Add to that the fact that his girlfriend in New York had been the first victim, and so obviously had a huge part to play in the scenario too, and Ron was certain that he could profile Nicholas accurately before the trial.
Melissa Edwards had a box with photos inside it and she rummaged through them until she found a picture, colour, but faded, of two young children sitting on a swing seat. The young girl, a rag doll in her hands, was smiling brightly, the little boy, younger, if only slightly, was also smiling, but his eyes weren't focussed on the camera, he was looking at his sister.
"Is that Issa?" Cheryl leant over and pointed to the doll.
"Yes, however did you know that?" The realization hit her as she spoke and another tear fell. "He remembered?"
"Yes, he did, that's how I know." Cheryl smiled, the knowledge had surprised and touched the woman in front of her and again the room was silent as Melissa gathered herself once more.
"Can you give him this?" She held out the picture. "I … I could write him, or even come visit." She looked around, uncertain what to do or say next. "My husband, we work together, he's a ski instructor in the winter, we rent a couple of condos all year. I could come for a little while, and the trial … if he would like a friendly face. I …" Her words trailed off, and it was clear that she had no idea what else to say, what to commit herself to, and Cheryl shook her head.
"We don't have a date for trial yet. He's been arraigned, and we have due cause, but the actual trial could be a year away, maybe more. I think he would be pleased to have the picture though, and I can get an address for him so you could write. Your letters would be read first, as would his replies, if there are any."
"Thank you, I … I would like that." Her face did look a little more relaxed but both Ron and Cheryl knew that once they left her alone her emotions would take over, and she would have a very difficult time holding it all together.
"I missed him, when he left, but I got married at eighteen, we've been here ever since. My husband was born in this apartment, he grew up here, I … I didn't think I would ever go back, this is all so much nicer than LA, but whatever he's done, he is family, the only real brother I ever had."
As they'd driven back both Ron and Cheryl had turned over Melissa Edwards disclosures and saw their prisoner in a different light. Ron saw the psychological damage that had been done, the way life had conspired against the young man until, in the end, he had fought against it, against all of his demons in the most horrific way imaginable. He still thought him guilty as hell and wanted him to receive the ultimate sentence, but now, gradually, he could see reasons behind it all.
Cheryl too was thinking about Nicholas's past, but not in quite the same way as her companion. She couldn't understand how someone who had obviously loved his foster mom could just walk away, leave his father, his sister, leave his mother to die without him, and she added that cold calculated behaviour to what she already knew about him and realised that she wasn't in the least bit surprised.
ooo
The music in the mall was annoyingly summery. In one way it didn't matter, when they were together the music became incidental as he enjoyed Maddie's company. She was older than him, almost four years older, but somehow they fitted together, and Daniel knew that she liked being with him too. He also knew there wouldn't be that much time left to enjoy the company because she would be back at college soon, and he would be back at school.
By the time he finished at Beverly Hills High, Maddie would be graduating college and they would drift apart, their lives taking them to even more different places than it did right now. In the meantime, while she wanted to spend time with him, he was glad to oblige.
His thoughts had sent him off into dreamland and Maddie, after watching him for a little while, reached out and touched his hand, apologising immediately when he almost jumped out of his chair.
"I am so sorry; I just wondered where you were going in your mind." She removed her hand, not wanting to embarrass him any more than he already was.
"It's no problem, I was just thinking about a million things." He looked at his watch to cover his confusion and then spoke again. "The movie starts in ten minutes, do you want anything else to eat, or should we go on in?"
"No, I'm fine, thank you. We could grab some popcorn though." Maddie held the tickets in her hand, as eager as her young friend to get to their seats ready to see the final Star Wars movie. He had told her about the marathon showing that had been on near the hospital that he had attended with his dad, and when she had shown an interest in the films had immediately offered to take her to see the new one.
Linking arms the two of them began their walk towards the theatre, their guard keeping a little bit of distance and hoping for a quick snooze while they blasted their way around the galaxy. None of them saw the man, a newspaper in front of his face and undrunk cup of coffee before him, get up from his seat and follow them in.
ooo
Jo had resisted the temptation to race towards the consulting rooms where Steve and Lauren Yung were waiting for her. She knew Mark would be there too, checking over his son, but she also knew she would ask the same questions over again, and hoped that Steve wouldn't get angry.
The secretary smiled as she introduced herself and indicated that she should go right on in. Knocking and listening for a response Jo tried to calm her breathing, running her fingers through her hair to smooth it a little and then, after closing her eyes for a second, she turned the handle and walked in.
Lauren, or she presumed it was Lauren, was crouched down in front of her husband who was sitting on a sofa, his father, as she had known he would be, right next to him. That part of the scene was reassuring, but Steve, although he looked up at her, had dead eyes, there was no life, no animation, he looked totally empty.
"Mark?" She knew somehow that to speak to Steve would be a bad idea, she could see his hand, his left hand resting on his leg, but it was shaking slightly and that, added to his demeanour, told her that her husband was in big trouble.
"Hi, Honey, come on over here. This is Lauren Yung." The dark-haired woman got to her feet and extended her hand as Mark spoke.
"I am very pleased to meet you, but I'm sorry that it's not a more social occasion."
"Me too. Can you tell me what happened?" Jo was looking at her husband, knowing that he wouldn't look back at her, not again, and was anxious to find out why he was so non-responsive.
"Not really, what we talked about has to remain confidential, but I can tell you that we covered a lot of ground. I think it will just take him a little while to get back to a place where he can start talking again." Lauren knew she was saying a lot as well as saying nothing, but felt the woman before her would understand.
"Mark?" Jo's voice was shaking a little and she could feel tears pricking her eyes at the vision her husband presented before her, but still he didn't look up again, even though her distress was obvious.
"Honey, he's been through an awful lot, you know that, what with Jayden, worrying about him, you, and then when Rae …" Mark paused as he saw his son jerk slightly beside him "well, that was one too many problems."
"What do I do? How can I make it better? I know he has been havin' bad dreams, did … did he tell you about them?" She looked back at the therapist knowing instinctively he had, but that she wouldn't get a positive reply.
"I can't tell you, but what I can tell you again, is that we covered a lot of ground." It was as close as Lauren would get to admitting Jo was on the right track.
"Can we take him home? I don't want him stayin' here, I'll hire a nurse if necessary, but he should be home. You could come see him at home for his appointments."
"I agree although right now I don't think a nurse will be necessary. If you don't mind I'll come home with you, get him settled." Mark had moved just a step away from Steve and placed a hand on his daughter-in-law's arm. She placed her hand over it and gently squeezed.
"I will have Juan call ahead an' get a bed made up for you. I wouldn't hear of you goin' home an' then sittin' worryin' about your son."
"Me, worry?" For a moment the sparkle was back in Mark's eyes, but the concern soon returned and he was drawn to his son, even though there was no response from Steve as Mark sat back down on the sofa next to him.
Jo looked at the two men together, and realised, maybe for the first time, just how much she must have worried them when she too had retreated from the difficulties around her, and she vowed to do everything in her power to get her husband to come back to her as soon as he was able.
ooo
The tears which slipped down Rae's face affected everyone in the room. She was trying valiantly to keep everything together, but as Chief Masters had begun to explain to her just what had happened she had started to recall things herself shaking first and then letting the tears fall as she tried to concentrate.
Unable to speak or spell due to her distress she had held her hands out in front of her, trying to show how she remembered holding on to the rails, that she could see herself hanging and the tears had started in earnest.
John Masters had read his newest Captain's statement on the incident that left Rae in her current situation, as well as the paperwork from Detective Banks and Agent Wagner before coming to speak with his officer. He had been visibly affected by what he'd learnt and been glad that he was in the safety and comfort of his own home at the time. Carefully choosing his words he told her about the treatment that she had received at the scene, how Doctor Bentley and Captain Sloan had remained with her, her ex-partner accompanying her to the hospital and staying almost all night as had the rest of her family and close friends.
Alex had taken over the description once she had arrived in the hospital, explaining her initial treatment, and briefly what Steve had told him.
It was clear that Rae couldn't take in any more than she'd already heard and shaking hard she had leant against Jesse crying until she had no more tears left before falling asleep in his arms.
If he had been alone Jesse would have let her rest a little longer within his loving grasp, but as it was he gently laid her back into her pillow, making sure she looked comfortable and at peace before reluctantly leaving her to rest.
The three men had left the room, Alex stopping briefly to give a message to the nurse on duty that he was to be paged if Rae seemed at all distressed, and then they retired to the doctors' lounge.
"I don't want to appear rude, but I want to get back to Rae, in case she wakes up." Jesse was pouring three mugs of coffee as he spoke but it was clear that he was already wishing he was back in the Intermediate Care Unit.
"How much more detail are you going to give her, Chief? I know you'll need a statement from her and I also know you skirted around some of the information you've already got from Steve." Alex was also concerned, not to get back to Rae, he would be paged if he was needed, he was far more worried about how his patient would react when she woke up, and whether she would have to go through another ordeal like the one she had just suffered.
"We will have to speak with her again, but it'll be me, Doctor, not some nameless officer she doesn't know or trust. I intend to take her statement myself, and offer any comfort and support I can. Now though," he checked his watch as he spoke, "I have to be going; I have an unavoidable meeting with the Governor this evening." The slight look of distain on John Masters' face was gone almost before it arrived, but Jesse laughed.
"Don't forget your body-building equipment."
"Thank you, Doctor Travis, please let your wife know I will be thinking of her."
"Yes, Sir, I'll do that." Jesse looked amazed, the man who was walking past him after shaking him by the hand was one of the most reserved characters he thought he had ever met, but that didn't mean he didn't have the ability to wrong foot him now and again and this was definitely one of those times.
Once the two doctors were left alone Jesse had made his excuses and rushed back to the room where his wife lay sleeping. Making himself comfortable he went back just a couple of hours, seeing the scene before him.
He had arrived, according to Alex, in Rae's room almost five minutes after the Chief and his wife's doctor. A message had been received from Lauren Yung's office saying she had been unavoidably detained and unless they wished to hold off until the next day she suggested they start without her.
Rae had been getting quite agitated as she waited for something, she had dictated, she was no longer sure she wanted to know. The serious expressions on the faces of her doctor and boss as well as himself, Jesse was sure, scared her, he had known her heart was beating faster, and had seen Alex check the monitor a few times already as he, almost unconsciously, did the same.
In the first few minutes after Jesse arrived he had watched her relax a little and could tell she felt slightly better about things, but it was clear she knew whatever had happened had been cataclysmic in nature and resulted in her still being in the hospital almost three months later and her messages on the tablet of paper had been anxious and insistent.
She had asked one question that had gotten an answer which only partly satisfied her. Rae wanted to know why Steve hadn't been to visit with her and Jesse had explained that he was now a Captain with his own precinct and no one had seen very much of him. She had nodded, the movement obviously causing her pain but not unbearably so, and then the room descended into its hushed state before John Masters had started to speak.
Rae was napping fitfully and Jesse watched her with a troubled expression on his face. He knew it would be best for her to sleep until morning but he could see she wasn't resting peacefully enough for that. He reached over and picked up her hand and, speaking very quietly, began to stroke it. To his relief and delight after a minute or two she had calmed considerably and, unable to relinquish his grasp on her, he continued to hold her hand long after his ministrations were needed.
ooo
The movie theatre was quite crowded, but as the film had been on general release for over a week the initial frenzy had died down, and those intent on seeing the picture dressed as their favourite character had also disappeared. Daniel and Maddie, glad that they had waited for a normal showing, had made themselves comfortable four rows from the back of the first floor seats, popcorn and chilli dogs set down on the empty chair next to them, while Daniel sat adjacent to the aisle.
Having already seen the movie, watching it the second day it had been out and enjoying it enormously, he knew the scene he was waiting for was just beginning and, looking around to make sure that he wasn't being watched, Wayne raised his gun and took aim.