See Chapter One for disclaimers.
CHAPTER SEVEN
The next morning, not long after Jennie arrived at work, the phone rang. Picking it up, all the while keeping an eye on the children, she answered, "Uncle Mac's Daycare, this is Jennie speaking, may I help you?"
"Hi, honey," came a deep even voice from the other end.
"Cody?" asked Jennie, surprised.
"Yeah," said the woman. "I just called to say hi. And to apologize for last night. I'm really sorry I left like that," she said.
"Yeah, I was wondering what was going on," Jennie admitted. "You scared me."
"I'm sorry, Jen," she said, honestly. "That was the last thing I wanted to do. I just had some things on my mind, and got to thinking about something that happened a long time ago. It kind of got to me, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you," she finished.
"Are you okay now?" she asked, kindly, and Cody was very surprised that she wasn't going to have to go through an interrogation as to what had caused all the trouble.
"I'm all right, thanks," replied the tall star, still waiting nervously for the infamous demand of "Tell me about it".
"How'd you get home, by the way?" was the next question.
"Took the bus," Cody muttered. She'd forgotten about not having her bike until she was halfway down the street, and was too embarrassed by the way she'd acted to go back and ask Jennie if she could use the phone to call a taxi.
Jennie was relieved. She'd worried about the woman, out there in the dark, without a ride home. Knowing she got home safely made her feel better. "Well, I've got to run. Some of the kids are really upset about James, so I need to talk to them. I'll see you at home later, and we can go to the movie, okay?" she asked, and Cody agreed.
"Take care, honey. Bye," she said, and hung up. With a sigh, feeling a little better about the tall star, Jennie turned her attentions to the matter at hand - dealing with distraught children who had just lost one of their friends.
Despite an emotional morning, the day went well, and there was no sign of Mac the entire day, which was a plus in Jennie's book. Heading home quickly, Jennie anxious to get ready to go the movies with Cody, she stuck Jeffrey in the bath while she got dressed, but ran into a slight problem, which she was still dealing with when Cody knocked.
"Jen? It's me," Cody clarified, when there was a period of silence after her knock.
"Come in!" called Jennie, and Cody closed the door behind her.
Looking around and not spying the blonde, Cody's voice rang out, "Jen? You ready to go?" They were planning to see a movie, the new one starring the kid from the old horror flick The Sixth Sense… Cody couldn't remember his name.
The small woman emerged from the bathroom. "Not yet; I'm sorry, Cody. Jeff refuses to get out of the bathtub. I'd lift him out myself, but I'm already dressed. He's just not listening; he's been in a bad mood all day today," she sighed, recalling how her son had sulked around the daycare, ignoring most of his friends, neglecting to open up to Jennie, who was preoccupied with the other children most of the day.
"Mind if I try?" When Jennie had no objections, the tall star politely knocked on the frame of the door, before entering the room. Sure enough, there sat Jeffrey in the tub, water now cold and bubbles long since gone.
"Hey, little man," she greeted, and the boy glanced up at her, warily.
"Hi, Cody." Brown eyes kept a careful watch on her as she stepped closer, and sat down on the toilet seat, now mere inches from the tub.
"I hear you're giving your mom a hard time. Want to tell my why?" The boy shook his head. "Well, your mom and I are going to a movie, but you have to be all ready for bed before we can take you over to James'."
"I don't wanna go," he pouted.
"Why not? I thought you liked James."
"No."
Cody shook her head. There was something else going on here; Jeff was typically a well-behaved kid, so this type of attitude was unusual. "Listen, do you want to tell me what's wrong? I know there's something bothering you, little man. Why don't you climb out of there and talk to me?"
"No."
"I hate to say this, Jeffrey, but either you get out right now and get yourself dressed, or I'll do it myself," she warned, evenly.
"No."
"Okay," Cody sighed, grasping the child under the arms and lifting him out of the water. Placing him on the floor, the boy still sitting, Cody began drying him with the towel.
"Stop," he whined. "I could do it myself."
A dark eyebrow was raised as Cody handed him the towel. "You certainly weren't acting like it a few seconds ago," she remarked.
The young boy frowned. "I don't want my mom to go with you," he stated, and Cody blinked, surprised by the sudden admission.
"Why not?"
"'Cause I don't see her no more, and we don't watch TV together no more and I don't get my story," he explained, and Cody paused. She'd been enjoying her time with Jennie so much she hadn't even stopped to consider if Jeff was feeling included or not.
Apparently, he wasn't, and Cody felt bad.
"Jeffrey, I'm sorry," she said, sincerely. "We didn't mean to exclude you. Why don't you hurry up and get dressed, and you can go to the movies with us? And we'll try to take you along more often, okay?" Cody offered, and the boy smiled.
"I could go with you?" When Cody nodded, the young child ran into his room to get dressed, while Cody went to let Jennie know of the change in plans.
The blonde looked almost devastated. "Oh, no… how could I have overlooked his feelings?" she muttered.
Cody wrapped her arm around the smaller woman's shoulders. "Jen, honey, you didn't overlook his feelings. We were just too excited about our own time together, we didn't expect Jeff to be interested. But we'll be sure to do better from here on out," Cody assured the blonde with a light kiss.
"Hey, there's my little man!" exclaimed Cody, seeing the boy exit his room. "You ready to go? All right then, let's head out." Jeff had thrown on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, squirming uncomfortably when the tall baseball star wet her thumb and fixed the cowlick atop his head, giggling as Cody lightly tickled his stomach after she was done.
"I guess we'll have to take your car," noted Cody. "I'd rather not take my bike with both of you."
Jennie agreed, and offered to drive to the theater. On the way there, the three discussed which movie to see, since the R-rated movie Jennie and Cody had picked out was no longer an option, with Jeffrey along.
"Jellybean!" voted Jeff, as Cody and Jennie exchanged glances. Did they really want to sit through a kid's movie about a magic green jellybean that comes to the aid of a small boy?
Only as long as it meant they could be together.
"Sure, little man," grinned Cody. "Jellybean it is."
"An' can we get popcorn?"
Jennie responded, "It wouldn't be a movie without it."
"Yea! We're gonna see Jellybean, we're gonna see Jellybean," Jeff sang, thrilled by the idea as Cody chuckled at his enthusiasm. "And we're gonna have popcorn. And candy and soda!"
"Hey, now, I don't think you need any sugar," said Jennie. "Maybe we'll share a soda, but nothing more." Both Cody and Jeffrey pouted, Cody sticking her lower lip out as far as she could, until the blonde couldn't hold back her laughter.
"All right, maybe we'll share a bag of candy, too."
"Yes!" Giving the boy in the back seat a high-five, Cody lovingly ruffled his hair, as Jennie looked on with a smile. Sometimes the tall woman amazed her with her gentleness and love around Jeffrey and herself. Even when the star had a hard day at practice, she still managed to play baseball with Jeffrey, and usually spend a few minutes alone with Jennie.
"What's that look for?" asked Cody, noticing that Jennie kept looking at her from the corner of her eye.
The blonde blushed slightly at being caught, and replied, "Just thinking about how good you are with Jeff."
"Ah, he's a good kid," smiled the star, brushing her long black hair behind her ear in a rare moment of embarrassment. The duration of the drive was spent in a comfortable silence, and the soft eyes of a child lit up with delight when the large theater came into view.
"Wow! There's lots of lights so we can see at night, huh?"
Cody grinned at the boy. "Yep, and they're also for decoration, and to make people want to stop by," she explained, patiently.
"I know that." Cody just smirked - five-year-olds were worse than teenagers when it came to knowing everything, but Cody appreciated the fact that Jeff was willing to learn.
Stepping outside and waiting for Jennie, Cody took Jeff's small hand in her own when it was offered, the boy's mother grasping his other. Walking with Jeffrey between them, the two women entertained him by lifting him over every crack in their path, smiling when the child's happy laughter filled the air.
Walking through the door after buying the tickets, Jeffrey stood in awe of the vast selection of virtual reality machines that lined the far wall, with a banner above the room proclaiming, "Games!"
Expectant brown eyes looked up at both women. "Can I?" Jeff asked, full of hope.
Cody looked at Jennie, who nodded. "Tell you what, little man," she said, kneeling down to be eye-level with the boy. "Why don't you go play games with your mom, and I'll take of the popcorn and the candy?" If Jeff was feeling that Cody was taking up more of his mother's time than he was comfortable with, Cody was determined to make sure he and Jennie spent some time together.
The blonde smiled, and took her son by the hand. "Come on, Jeff. It looks like there's a new game open, and not too much of a line," she hinted, and the boy took off towards the room, before running back to Cody and giving her a hug.
"Thanks, Cody," he murmured, and then rejoined his mom, leaving a brilliantly smiling baseball star behind him. Getting to her feet, Cody shook her head fondly, and stood in line for the refreshments.
"Pow! Bang! Boom! Ha ha!" cried Jeff, his voice ringing out as he held his hands out in front of him, curled into fists, seeing the form on the view screen in his helmet. When he ducked down, so did the display on the screen. Small boxes where in the area, available for hiding behind to dodge attacks. The game included sounds, transferred through speakers in the helmet, so neither Jennie nor Jeffrey heard Cody calling until their game ended, having fought the bad guys side-by-side.
"Yeah, we won! Cody, did you see?" he asked, bouncing around, happily reenacting a scene from the game.
"Yep, I saw you guys," she grinned, and held the door open for both Jennie and Jeffrey to enter the theater, where the lights were slowly dimming, signifying that the movie was about to start.
"Where do you want to sit, little man? It's all up to you," Cody said, and the boy chose a seat in the back - something Cody and Jennie greatly appreciated. Being away from most of the people gave them a chance to be close, without having to worry about being bothered by narrow-minded observers.
With crystal clear video and sound, the members of the audience watched George the green computer-animated jellybean learn about friends, bullies, and parents. It was a standard kid's film, dealing with the normal kid issues, but not a bad movie altogether. As long as Cody was able to hold hands with Jennie and steal an occasional kiss, she was happy.
"Did you like the movie, Jeff?" questioned the blonde, walking out hand-in-hand with Cody, the connection having become so natural she didn't even think anything of it.
"Yeah! I wanna watch it again!"
Cody chuckled, and made a mental note to buy the film when it came out on DVD. Old videocassettes were obsolete, and now qualified as subject matter for history books. Even DVDs were being gradually replaced by micro-discs, a miniature CD.
"Fucking dyke sluts," could be heard across the parking lot, and Cody instantly stiffened, searching with dangerously narrowed eyes for the owners of the voices.
Jennie relinquished the star's hand, whispering, "Just let it go," as even Jeffrey's good mood diminished, and the boy fell silent. Taking a deep breath, Cody continued on her way to the car, and was tempted to let it drop, when two large men stepped into view, one revealing a switchblade, which he snapped open.
"Let's show these bitches what a real man feels like," the one with the knife encouraged, and Cody immediately pushed Jennie and Jeffrey towards the car.
"Get in the car, both of you," she said, her voice trembling a bit from the adrenaline coursing through her veins. "Jennie, please don't argue with me right now, just put Jeff in the car and stay down," Cody ordered, lowly, and the blonde did as she was told, to Cody's relief.
When the first man, who couldn't have been older than about twenty-one, made a slash at her with his blade, she cursed under her breath, jumping back just in time to miss being hit. Her backpack was in the side compartments of her bike, and so was her knife.
She was unarmed.
"Listen, I don't want to hurt either of you," she explained, dodging another jab, and ducking as the second one threw a punch, both thugs now closing in around her.
"Oh, hurt me, baby," smirked the bare-handed man, earning himself a quick kick in the jaw before he even saw it coming, stumbling backwards, stunned.
Glaring at the man with the knife, she spat, "Try me again, ass hole, I dare you." With a growl, he did just that, and Cody leapt to the side and just missed being stabbed, wrapping one arm around his neck and the other restraining the hand with the weapon. Choking, he dropped the knife to claw at his throat, and Cody released him with a push towards his dazed buddy.
"Get out of my sight before I get really pissed, you stupid fucks," the woman cursed, and the two took off into the night, never once looking back. When she was sure they were gone, she kicked the knife away, and then went to check on Jennie and Jeffrey.
"You two okay?" she asked, opening the rear door to see Jeffrey huddled on his mother's lap. "Hey, Jen, Jeffrey, are you guys all right?"
Jennie looked up and nodded. "What about you, Cody? Are you hurt?" the blonde asked, and Cody gave a half-grin.
"Nah, they didn't get a hit in," she assured the woman, kissing the top of her head, as well as Jeff's. "Come on, let's go home. I'll drive." Their pleasant night ending on a sour note, Cody drove the two people she cared for the most in the world back home, carrying Jeffrey to bed and tucking him in tightly.
"You sure you're all right, little man? You're not scared?"
Jeffrey shook his head. "No, you're here," he stated, honestly, and Cody smiled.
"Thanks, Jeff. You get some sleep, okay? Good night," she added, shutting of the light and moving out into the living room with Jennie, who was sitting on the couch.
"Come here," the small blonde beckoned, opening her arms. Cody willingly sank into her hold, and Jennie questioned, "Are you sure they didn't hurt you? Honestly, Cody, please… are you hurt?"
Cody smiled. "I promise I'm fine, honey, but thank you for your concern. I just put Jeff to bed, and he seems to be all right." The stillness of the night descended upon the two for a few minutes, as they both took time to come down after the emotional evening, Cody trying to straighten out a few of the thoughts coursing through her mind.
"Jen, can I ask you something? You don't have to answer, I'm just curious," said Cody, her tone of voice enough to make the blonde look up.
"Of course, Cody. What is it?"
Cody paused, trying to figure out how to phrase her inquiry so as not to offend or upset the young woman. "When I told you I was going to build the playground at the daycare, you almost seemed surprised that I was honestly going to do it… can I ask what happened?" she asked, gently, and Jennie sighed, sitting up straight.
"It was a long time ago," the woman began, not meeting Cody's gaze as she fiddled with the seam of the couch, pulling at a thread. "Jeff was only about a year old, and I was with a woman named Donna. We started out as friends, but she quickly decided she wanted more, and I was pulled into her enthusiasm.
"When we'd been together for about three months, Donna and I started talking about beginning our own daycare, since she also worked for Mac, and felt the same way about him as I did," Jennie spoke, her voice low as she remembered things she'd promised herself she'd never think of again.
"It took two months of planning, but we finally had it all laid out. Donna offered to take the idea over to the bank for not only a loan but to begin an account, and I agreed. She took the money and never came back. It took me a long time to recover from that, both financially and emotionally.
"So when you first offered to pay for everything and put it all together," concluded the blonde, finally meeting the blue-eyed woman's compassionate stare, "I guess my first thought was that you wouldn't go through with it. I was cautious, but now I know I had no reason to worry."
"I'm not Donna," agreed Cody, softly. "I'm sorry she hurt you like that, but I can promise you I won't. Money's not an issue with me, and I don't want to ever do anything to hurt you in any way. You can trust me, Jennie," she assured the young woman, who smiled.
"I do trust you, Cody. I really don't believe you're the kind to act like Donna. But, it's getting late. I'll see you tomorrow?"
Cody grinned. "Yep, for dinner. Get some rest, honey. You sure you don't want me to stay? I will, if you need," the star offered, and Jennie chuckled.
"Of course I want you to stay, but I think we'll be okay tonight. Good night, Cody, and thank you for taking care of the situation tonight," the blonde added.
The tall woman leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I'm not about to let anything happen to you or Jeffrey. 'Night, Jen," she murmured, reluctantly pulling back and forcing herself to walk out the door and drive home.
The next day, Jennie became more and more nervous as time wore on. Happy as she was to be going out to dinner with Cody, she was extremely concerned as to what her parents would think when she told them who she was dating. Unable to stop time, however, the workday quickly came to an end, and the last child waved their goodbye from the back of an electrically powered vehicle.
Jeffrey readily helped Jennie close up, and they drove home, the small boy helping his mother choose her outfit. He was all too happy to have his mom go out with Cody, since Jennie had patiently explained that while she and Cody would take Jeff with them to as many things as they could, there were some places he just wouldn't be able tag along. The young boy understood, and decided that spending time with James and Mike would be much more fun than eating dinner at a stuffy restaurant with his grandparents.
Jeffrey thought the dress suit his mother wore to their occasional church attendance would be nice, and Jennie agreed, slipping on the beige slacks, white shirt, and beige jacket. She made sure she was comfortable, since she had no doubt the tall woman would ride her motorcycle.
Sure enough, not long after Jennie was dressed, Jeffrey ran to answer the door when he heard the doorbell ring. He happily let Cody inside, who wore black dress pants, with a crisp white shirt and a black coat, followed by James. Jeffrey bid his mother goodnight, and ran after the male baseball player, who led him out to the car where his son was waiting.
"Wow," said Cody, grinning as the young blonde flushed a light red. "I'm going to have to keep my eye on you, lest those line of guys outside your door get their hands on you."
Jennie smiled, and gave her a quick kiss, before heading to the door, singing, "Oh, boys!" Cody growled, and went after her, literally sweeping her off her feet as she swung her around.
"She's mine," she proclaimed, to the nonexistent competition, kissing the woman in her arms soundly on the lips to prove her point.
"And don't you forget it," said Jennie, as she climbed on the motorcycle behind the tall woman, after securing her helmet.
"Never," promised Cody, with a grin, as she revved the engine, and took off down the road. They had half-an-hour to make it to the restaurant by six, but she figured they had plenty of time.
Cody eyed the traffic with caution, noticing that the black car in front of her didn't seem to be slowing for the upcoming stop sign. Catching a movement out of the corner of her right eye, she saw a green van coming towards the intersection, without a stop sign in their way.
The noise was deafening, as the vehicles collided, and Cody did all she could to keep from adding the motorcycle to the crash. "Shit!" she cried, braking hard, bringing her hand behind her to help keep Jennie on the bike, as the motorcycle slid to a stop. By the time Cody had checked on her passenger, smoke was already billowing out of the cars, the black car having run the stop sign and slammed into the green van, who technically had the right-of-way.
Jumping off the motorcycle, and removing her helmet, Cody opened the side compartments, as Jennie looked on, startled by the sight before her.
"Call 911," Cody said, tossing her a cell phone. "Tell the dispatcher there's been an accident on…" she glanced up at the street names, "4th and Davis. I'll tell you how many are injured when I know.
"Jen, you can do it," she assured the woman. The blonde nodded, and the tall woman rushed to the smoky scene, first aid kid in hand. Laying it on the ground, she went up to the black car, which had been hit the worst in the passenger side, and opened the driver's front door.
A man, probably about fifty or so, was slumped over his steering wheel, as a young girl beside him cried and begged, "Grandpa, wake up!"
Cody locked eyes with the brown-eyed child, and tried to calm her down. "My name's Cody," she said. "I'm going to help your grandfather, okay?"
The girl nodded, and watched with big eyes as the tall woman quickly checked the man for a pulse, and finding none, stabilized his head as best she could, before removing the large man from the crunched car.
"Come on out here," urged Cody, and the girl clambered out of the car in a hurry. Noticing she was holding her arm, where a large piece of glass was protruding, the star knew she'd have to take care of the other victims first, since the girl didn't seem to have any other injuries.
"Sit on the curb, sweetheart," she said, and held up three fingers to Jennie who was still on the phone, taking note of the sole driver in the green van, and then noticed she was gaining an audience.
"Any of you know first aid or CPR?" No one stepped forward. "Then stay out of my way. You," she said, pointing to a man who was just stepping out of his car to get a closer look, "park down at the end of the block, and direct traffic. Keep your hazard lights on.
"You, do the same up there," she instructed to another spectator, so the flow of traffic would be stopped, and the people sprang into action. "Don't need another accident," she mumbled.
"Jennie!" she called, and the blonde hurried over.
"They're on their way," she reported.
"Good. Sit with the girl on the curb," Cody requested. "Don't let her go into shock; if she complains of being really hot, or starts shivering from cold, let me know. Jen," she said, before the woman left, "thanks. You're doing fine."
As Jennie sat down beside the child, Cody checked her grandfather for internal bleeding or broken bones. Finding none, save a concussion on his forehead, she was going to begin CPR, when the smoke snaking through the hood of the other car turned into orange flames. Since gasoline was a thing of the past, she didn't have to worry about an explosion, but electrical fires were a definite cause for concern. The old man was, unfortunately, going to have to wait, as Cody decided she'd much rather get that fire under control than to have to deal with an explosion that could injure everyone around.
With a growl, she ran to the driver's side, where the woman was struggling to get free. The doors were stuck, and the fire was growing, smoke filling the inside. Taking off her jacket and wrapping it around her hand, she shouted at the woman to cover her face and get as far away from the window as she could, before sighing when she realized the woman had stopped struggling, and passed out.
One swift punch, and the glass gave way. Clearing the glass from the frame as much as she could, the tall woman took a step back for a moment, coughing, as smoke surrounded her face. Cody worked on opening the door, but it wouldn't budge, so she quickly unlatched the unconscious woman's seat belt, and tried to pull her out, trying to ignore the blood that was running down her arm.
But, the driver's left foot was stuck between the floor and the dash. Leaning through the window, hoping she didn't cut her stomach, Cody grabbed the twisted ankle, and freed it, paying no mind to the fact that the young brunette's shoe slipped off. Taking the woman under her arms, she drug her out of the window, and then brought her over next to her first victim, noticing she couldn't have been more than 20- or 25-years-old.
"Hey!" she called, to a man who was just standing there. "Come here." Tilting the brunette's head back, she ordered the man to kneel beside her, and paused for a moment before telling him what to do.
"Anyone here have a fire extinguisher?" One woman stepped forward, shyly. "Don't just stand there, goddamn it, go take care of the van before it gets worse!" Darting into her vehicle, the woman retrieved her fire extinguisher, and did as she was told, the fire soon under control.
"Pinch her nose and give two slow breaths, and watch her chest to make sure the air gets into her lungs. Keep it up until she starts breathing on her own," she instructed the nervous man who was kneeling beside the unconscious woman. Seeing his hesitation, she continued, "She has a pulse, but she's not breathing. She needs you to do it for her. Just do it!" Gathering his courage, the man did as he was bid, and Cody checked the girl's grandfather for a pulse again.
Still nothing.
Placing her right palm two fingers above the man's breastbone, she put her left hand over top and interlaced her fingers to keep her hands steady, and leaned over so her hands were positioned right under her shoulders. Without bending her elbows, using the weight of her upper body, she started doing chest compressions.
"… and four, and five, and six," she counted, and the man beside her, who was comforting the woman who was coughing as she breathed on her own again, just stared at her, hearing the popping noise that occurred every time Cody pushed down on his chest.
"What's that noise?" he asked, encouraging the lady to relax.
"His ribs," replied Cody, tilting the man's head back and doing rescue breathing as the bystander had done with the woman. Giving him two breaths, and watching his chest rise as her air filled his lungs, she went back to doing the compressions.
"What do you mean? You're breaking his ribs?" the man cried.
She glared at him. "I have to compress down about an inch and a half," she explained. He still looked horrified, and didn't understand that, especially with older people, the pressure of the compression was often too much for their ribs to handle, but it had to be done, if he was going to have a chance.
"They can fix cracked ribs, but they can't fix him if he's dead!" she snarled, and leaned down to give the man another breath. Before she could finish another set of compressions, the ambulance and police officers arrived, and the paramedics took over CPR. While they were busy with the more seriously injured, Cody walked over to the girl, who was sitting on the curb still, talking with Jennie.
Cody was glad the blonde had turned the girl away from the scene, so she wouldn't have to watch her grandfather being worked on.
"Hey," she smiled, retrieving her first aid kit as she approached. "Can I take a look at that arm, sweetheart?"
"Yeah," said the girl. "I'm Anna," she added.
"That's a pretty name," said Cody, as she opened several packages of gauze. "I'm just going to put these pads around the glass, so it doesn't move and hurt you more, and then I'll wrap your arm. Okay?"
"Okay," agreed the girl. "You're not gonna take it out?"
Cody shook her head. "No," she said, "the glass might be helping you. You're doing a terrific job," she praised, as she began to use the roll bandage to hold the gauze in place. If she removed the piece of glass from the girl's arm, she was afraid the blood would flow much quicker than it was, and determined that the foreign object was probably doing a good job of slowing the bleeding.
"Cody, is my Grandpa gonna be okay? I kept asking Jennie, but she said she didn't know," said Anna, and Cody sighed.
"The paramedics are helping him right now," said Cody, gently, as she tied off the bandage, and looked into the girl's face. "They'll do all they can."
Anna nodded, and threw her arms around Cody's neck, squeezing her tightly.
"Thank you," she said, and then walked over to the man in the uniform, who was beckoning to her.
The tall woman took a deep breath, and sat down beside Jennie, glancing over at the young woman. "Are you okay?" she asked, and the blonde nodded.
"Yeah," she said, taking a shaky breath. "I think so."
"You did a great job out there, honey," she smiled, putting her arm around her shoulders. "I really appreciate your help." Seeing the paramedics load an alert, talking man into the ambulance, along with his granddaughter, Cody broke out into a grin.
"You saved them, Cody," said Jennie, putting her head on the broad shoulder.
"You were amazing. I didn't know you knew first aid, much less CPR."
Cody shrugged. "I renew my license every year," she said, casually. Reaching into the first aid kit, she took out some more gauze, and Jennie watched as she began working on her own arm.
"Cody!" she cried. "What happened?"
"Just a little glass," she said, "that's all." While her hand had been protected from the glass, the woman's arm had been sliced, and was bleeding in several places.
"You should get that looked at," said Jennie, and motioned a paramedic over before Cody could stop her.
"So, you do bleed," smiled the paramedic, as he walked up to her, and examined her arm. "Hm, not even green blood! Some of the witnesses around here were thinking you were some kind of god or something. Well, at the very least, you're an angel with very real injuries. I'll get an officer to take you to the hospital, so you can get it sewn up.
"Thanks," he added, before he left. "You saved that man's life, and did some real nice work. Take care of yourself." Cody echoed the same, and the man walked away, speaking to a uniformed police officer on his way. Cody watched the medic point to her, and saw the policeman nod, and sighed.
"Well, I guess dinner's a bust for tonight," she said, grimly. "Sorry, honey."
"Oh, I should call my parents!" cried Jennie, grabbing Cody's cell phone, and dialing the number that was tucked away in her pocket.
"Yes, will you please tell Dana Donavon she has a phone call? Thanks," Jennie said, when the man agreed. Moments later, Mrs. Donavon got on the line, and sounded concerned.
"Jennie, is that you? What's wrong? Your father and I were getting worried!"
The blonde sighed. "It's okay, mom," she assured her. "But, I'm afraid we'll have to reschedule dinner to another night. We were on our way, when there was an accident, and we stopped to help," she explained.
"Well, that was very nice of you, dear," smiled Dana. "Is tomorrow night okay?"
"Let me ask Cody," she said, and put her hand over the receiver. "Cody, are you free for dinner tomorrow night? My mom wants to cash the rain check early." The tall woman nodded, as she began to wrap her arm, and Jennie put the phone on her shoulder as she continued the conversation, taking over the bandaging.
"Yeah, that's fine," replied Jennie. "We'll see you then, mom. Good night," she said, and hung up a moment later. As gently as she could, the blonde tied off the bandage, and helped Cody to her feet. "What do you want to do with your motorcycle?"
The tall woman shrugged. "I can drive it to the hospital, if need be," she said. "I can't just leave it here… Let me talk to the officer." Walking over to the uniformed officer, who was planning on taking her to the hospital, she asked him if it would be all right if she just drove herself to the hospital.
"I'll escort you, then," sighed the man, and Cody agreed. Putting on her helmet, and helping Jennie fasten hers, the tall woman pulled in behind the black and white police car, and followed it to the medical center.
"Ow!" said Cody, as the doctor drew the needle and thread threw her arm. The man didn't say a word, concentrating on his task, and the tall woman growled.
"I said ow," she persisted, and heard Jennie chuckle.
"I swear, Cody, you're worse than Jeffrey," said the blonde, kissing the woman's cheek, who grinned.
"Yeah," Cody agreed, "I'm just too darned cute to resist. Ow!"
"All done," smiled the doctor, bandaging the sewn arm of his patient. "Come back in a week to get the stitches taken out. Don't get it wet, and you should be fine. Oh, and no baseball," he added.
Blue eyes widened. "What?" she exclaimed. "No baseball? You've got to be kidding me. I have to play - I've got a game in… three days," she calculated.
"Too soon," he said. "You'll chance tearing your stitches if you exert yourself like that. Just take it easy, and I'll see you back here in a week." That said, he left, and Cody sighed.
"I'm playing baseball," she stated, and Jennie laughed at the way her lower lip stuck out as she pouted.
"Right now, we're going home," said the blonde, and Cody agreed, following the woman outside. Securing their helmets, the two climbed on the motorcycle, and Cody drove Jennie to her house, dropping her off.
"I'd love to stay, honey, but I'd have to leave early in the morning, anyhow," she said. "I've got to let Joe know I got hurt. I still have to attend practice, but I'll probably just go over some of the plays, and help the guys improve. I'll talk to you tomorrow night, and pick you up for dinner, all right?"
Jennie sighed. "Okay," she said, kissing the woman softly before she left. "Get some sleep."
"Promise," smiled the star, returning the kiss, and then replacing her helmet. "I'll ask James tomorrow at practice if he'll mind keeping Jeffrey another night, and let you know what he says." With a quick smile, the woman rode away, and the blonde watched her go, before realizing she was still standing outside in the dark, and went inside.
The next day passed quickly for the blonde. When James dropped Jeffrey off at the daycare, she thanked him over and over for letting him stay, and mentioned the possibility of another night of the same.
"Sure," smiled the man, kindly. "Jeff's a great kid, and he and Mike had a good time. I'll pick him up on break, if that's all right, and he can spend the rest of the day at practice with us."
Jeffrey was thrilled by the idea, so Jennie agreed, and James told the boy he'd be back in a few hours. Every ten minutes, Jeffrey asked Jennie how much longer, until the woman finally said she'd tell her son when it had been two hours.
"Jennifer," said Mac, coming out of his office for just a minute, "I need to see you after the kids are gone, but before you close up."
"Okay," agreed the blonde, biting her lip. Had she done something wrong? A million thoughts ran through her mind, interrupted by the sound of crying.
Looking around, she saw that Nicole didn't want to let go of her mother's leg.
"Hi, Nicole," said Jennie, kneeling down to be next to the girl, who's mother looked exasperated. "What's wrong?"
"My mom's going away!" she cried, and Jennie glanced up at Theresa, who sighed.
"I have to leave for three days on business," she explained. "She doesn't want me to go without her."
"Nicole, I think I've got an idea," the blonde said, and the girl looked at her, brown eyes curious. "Why don't you let your mom go, and we'll read some books. The sooner she leaves, the sooner she can get done with her business, and the quicker she'll come back," she enticed, and the girl thought about it for a minute.
"Okay," she sniffled, taking Jennie's hand, waving goodbye to her mother, who was looking gratefully at her friend as she walked out the door. "Can we read this one?" she asked, going over to the bookcase, and Jennie nodded, calling all of the children over for story time.
Just after lunchtime, but before their naps, James came back to pick up Jeffrey, who gave his mother a quick hug and rushed out the door. Thanking James once more, Jennie turned back to her charges, and announced that they would watch a movie before naptime.
Jennie knocked softly on the frame of the open door, hoping not to startle the man as he sat at his desk.
"Mr. Donaldson? You wanted to speak with me?" she urged, quietly.
The man looked up, and nodded, motioning for her to come in, checking the clock to make sure it was closing time. "Yeah," he agreed, and added, "close the door behind you, please, Jennifer."
The blonde frowned, and paused, but did as she was told. She suddenly had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, but shrugged it off to not knowing what he was going to talk to her about - nervousness, she told herself.
"You like this job, don't you, Jennifer?" asked the older man, after Jennie took the seat in front of his desk, and the woman nodded.
"Yes, sir," she confirmed. "I love the children."
"You'd do anything to keep this job, wouldn't you?"
A fair eyebrow made its way upward. "Yes," the woman drawled, unsure of where the man was going. Was he going to fire her? "Mr. Donaldson, if I've done something to upset you," she began, but the man cut her off.
"No, no," he assured her, with a wave of his hand. "You're a fine employee, Jennifer, and you work well for being the only one. It is just you working the daycare now, isn't it?"
Jennie nodded, alarm bells going off in her head at the man's unusually caring tone.
"I'll bet it can get kind of lonely out there."
The blonde took a moment to think about it, and answered, honestly, "It's really not that bad, sir. I enjoy spending time with the children."
"I'll bet we can both use a little adult companionship, though. Am I right?" he asked, openly eyeing her body.
Jennie swallowed, and shakily got to her feet. Not good, this is not good at all! "I… I think I'd better go, Mr. Donaldson," she said, and began walking towards the door.
Faster than she had ever seen the old man move, the door was blocked by his body, and Mac Donaldson was standing in front of her, keeping her from the only possibility of escape she had.
"Either you cooperate, or you're out of a job," he snarled, locking the door and advancing towards her.
The blonde backed away. "You can't do that!" she exclaimed, searching frantically for something to use as a weapon, if it came to that, but finding nothing.
"You don't have the money for a lawyer, and you won't quit," he pointed out. "I think I can. Now, stand still!"
Before she knew it, the blonde had backed herself into a corner, and the large man was upon her.
Minutes later, a rather disheveled looking blonde hurried from the office, and a man could be heard saying, "You're fired, Donavon!" Jennie just swallowed her tears, tried to ignore the throbbing in her left breast that the man's hard grip had caused, as well as the rumpled look of her shirt.
The woman wasn't paying much attention to where she was going, just so long as it was away from Mac, when she bumped into someone - a tall, safe, strong someone. Cody's arms went out to catch her, and keep her from falling.
"Hey, there," she smiled. She'd left practice early to surprise the blonde by picking her up at work, giving them time to talk about Jeffrey before they left for dinner, as she was sure the woman would want to know all the boy had done at practice.
"Fancy bumping into you here." Suddenly, Cody saw the tears, and noticed the blonde's disturbed appearance. "Jen?" the tall woman asked, all humor gone. "Honey, are you okay? What's wrong?"
"Nothing," sniffled the blonde, wiping at her eyes. "Nothing, I'm fine."
"No you're not," stated Cody. "If you were fine, you wouldn't be crying. Now, what happened?" The small woman averted her gaze, and Cody gently but firmly lifted her chin, until their eyes locked. "Jennie, I can't help you unless you tell me what's wrong."
The promise of the star's help, and Jennie knew everything would be okay. With a sob, she sank into the woman's arms, and cried until she wasn't scared anymore. The startled woman just held the blonde in her embrace, whispering soothing words into her ear until she calmed down a few minutes later.
"What happened?" repeated Cody, gently, holding the woman tightly against her, and stroking her hair.
"I went to talk to Mac," said the blonde, hiccuping as the tears slowed. "He… he said he needed to speak to me after work, so I went into his office, and he asked me to close the door. I did, and then he started talking, asking me how much I like this job, and what I'd do to keep it. He said if I didn't… and he fired me…" she stammered. The tears returned, and Cody's throat tightened.
Softly, she pulled the woman back, and looked into her frightened green eyes. "Jennie, this is very important. I want you to listen to me," Cody said, her voice even.
"Did he touch you?"
Biting her lip, Jennie nodded.
"Did he hurt you?" continued the tall woman.
Another nod.
Cody took a deep breath. "Did he… did he rape you?"