CHAPTER 25-OUT LIKE A LIGHT

~~Thank you for the reviews! Girl, I say the same thing. I wish I got more but I'll take what I can get at the moment. (And you can keep leaving them :D Thank you all again for the views and reviews!~~Reanna.

When Jessica Cody woke up the next morning, she felt like a train had ran over her twice. She had a hard time sleeping through the pain she felt and trying to lay in a position that wouldn't bother her arm. The only option she had was to lay on her back or on her left side but they it took a lot out of her to roll back over. Baz had stayed with her all night like she asked and didn't think for second he wouldn't have.

He had been her only sense of comfort through the night. It was nice for her to count on someone because it always seemed like the world had been against her. Whenever she got back into drugs, Jessica could only count on herself because if she asked any of them for anything, it usually ended in a rehab trip. On top of it, Jessica had to count on herself when Smurf kicked her out of the house when she was sixteen.

After waking up, Jessica rubbed the back of her head and looked towards the right of the bed. Baz was nowhere in sight, she figured that he had gotten up earlier for Lena. She always kept her phone on the bedside table but that wasn't there either. It was last in Deran's room and she had no idea if any of them had found it or not. Swinging her foot onto the floor, Jessica pushed off the bed with her free hand and in the process forgot about her ribs. Nearly falling back onto the ground, the Cody sister took a couple of deep breaths before standing up straight.

The bedroom door was closed by the room was still lit up with the early morning sun creeping in. Walking a few feet forward to the dresser, her black bookbag sat on the floor. It never occurred to Jessica how she was going to get dressed and how she was going to get the clothes out. If her arm had been in a cast it would have been easier but she was still bound to move her arm faintly while doing activities.

It was almost as if Baz read her mind because there had been a knock at the door. He cracked it slightly to see if she was still sleeping. "Hey…How are you feeling?"

Jessica stared at him for a split second then shifted her eyes towards the bag. "I can't reach the bag…Can you get it for me?" She felt awkward asking but there wasn't much she could do.

Nodding, Baz let go of the door and moved over to her side. Bending down for the bag, he placed it on the brown dresser for her to search through. Baz took it upon himself to pull the clothes out of the bag and lay them for her to see.

"I didn't know what you would want so I grabbed a little of everything. Some sweatpants, shorts, t-shirts, a hoodie. What do you want to wear?"

Looking her things over, Jessica snatched a pair of underwear as quick as she could. She didn't want them just laying around for him to see even though he is the one that brought them in the first place. Baz watched her snatch them up and found it pretty amusing that she was doing so. Scanning over the clothes, Jessica picked out jean shorts and a gray hoodie. It was simple enough and she didn't want to dress fancy. Getting the hoodie on was going to be a problem as she couldn't bend her arm do the sling. She had no choice but to ask Baz to help her.

He turned away when she went to change her underwear to give her privacy. Jessica didn't have much trouble with the shorts even though she had a wiggle a couple times in order to get in them. While Baz still had his back turned she reached for her bra to put on. Slipping out of Craig's shirt with ease, Jessica slowly realized but she couldn't clasp it shut without using her other hand. Debating on asking Baz for help, she tossed it onto the bed and quickly grabbed a t-shirt.

She called out to him with the hoodie hanging from her good arm. Jessica had no idea how she was going to get it on but she had been cold in the house. Baz offered to give her his jacket again she wanted to be wrapped in her own clothes. After a faint struggle and Jessica dealing with the pain, the hoodie went right over her head. He grabbed the sling that she was wearing, helped her get back into it and waited for her to fix her hair. The bedroom had gotten quiet again as the couple look towards one another.

"You need to eat something. Smurf made breakfast this morning for Lena, there should be some left" He told her folding the t-shirt in his hands.

Jessica lightly nodded before dragging herself to the door. "At least I know it isn't poisoned…" She joked quietly remembering the last conversation about breakfast. Jessica did mean it this time around as she was still iffy on the idea of even being around Smurf.

Moving through the hallway, Pope wasn't in his chair compared to last night and she was glad that she didn't have to face him. Baz told her how he was outside the door all night, even at three in the morning when he went to check on Lena. Pope was still sitting, gun tucked in his lap and completely awake. She wasn't sure what time it was or if anyone was in the house as it was quiet.

Jessica rubbed her eyes gently before popping them open once she reached the kitchen. To her surprise, Lena was sitting at the dining table. It took the Cody sister a minute because she remember the pool table was there last night and she wondered who moved it. Lena had been sitting with half eaten pancakes in front of her when she popped her head up.

They stared at each other for a few seconds until Jessica moved closer to the refrigerator. She noticed a plate sitting on the kitchen island filled with eggs, pancakes and fresh fruit. Lena removed herself from the chair and walked towards her.

"Grandma Smurf made you a plate. I was going to bring it to you but she said you needed sleep" Her voice was delicate and she took a look at the plate then at her Aunt.

"What time is it?" Jessica asked getting smacked with the early morning sun when she went for the empty coffee that was sitting next to the plate. Looking around for the coffee maker, she spotted it and went to pour a cup.

When she spun around, the plate was gone and she watched Lena carry the plate over to the table. It was a gesture that she didn't expect so she added a quick splash of milk and sugar in her coffee. Walking slowly to the table, Jessica plopped down in the empty chair next to Lena. Baz's daughter scooted the plate towards her and went back to the sink to grab her a fork. Jessica didn't know why she was going out of her way for her but she waited until Lena came back.

"Thanks…Did Grandma Smurf make good pancakes?" She asked trying to grab the fork with her left hand, she struggled with gripping it as she wasn't left handed.

"They're okay, I'm sure you could make better ones. I like your cooking" Lena responded while taking a big bite from her plate. She took a glance at her while chewing then grabbed her glass of milk when she was done. Lena watching her struggled with her food before asking her a question. "Aunt Jessica? What happened?"

Jessica had gotten tired of playing around with the fork so she grabbed a grape with her free hand. Popping it into her mouth, she paused at the question, chewed the piece of fruit then spoke. "Remember when I told you skateboarding was dangerous? Let's just say not to go down Auburn Hill because you'll crash and break your arm just like I did"

Auburn Hill was a frequent spot for teenagers who wanted to be daredevils and practically kill themselves on their skateboards. It was a dangerous spot in one of the local neighborhoods as the hill was very steep, moderate with traffic and had an injury rate that was high. Jessica was glad she had always been good with quick thinking because she wasn't going to tell Lena what happened whatsoever.

Offering the young girl a faint smile, Lena had another question. "Aren't you a doctor? Can't you just fix it?"

"I'm a nurse, not a doctor, I don't get to do all those interesting things that doctors do. If it were that easy, I would be able to eat"

Lena had nodded at her then went back to her breakfast. Jessica wasn't sure if she bought her story or not even though her wounds could be from a skateboarding accident. She was still a child so she was glad that she had no idea what the Cody family did.

She had a few more bites of her food before jumping up and heading into the sitting room. Lena came back, her pink bookbag adorned with glittery unicorns in tow. Jessica had watched her place it on the dining table to dig out a matching folder.

"Can you sign this paper for me?" She asked pulling out a pale yellow sheet.

"I can't sign it, I'm not your parent. Why don't you ask your Dad?" She questioned but still took ahold of the paper.

"He can't sign it…"

The first thing Jessica thought of was that Lena had gotten in trouble and was afraid to tell Baz about it. He was still distant to his daughter, a trait that Jessica wasn't taking to kindly. At the same time, the Cody siblings pulled stuff like that all the time by faking Smurf's signature on anything. Pope had the highest rate being suspended, Baz and Craig followed in suit with the most detentions. Julia was always tardy compared the others, Deran flunked most of his tests and Jessica had the best grade average before dropping out. Lena and J seemed to have a good head on their shoulders where school mattered.

As Jessica glanced at Lena for a moment, her stormy eyes scanned the paper and when she began reading it to herself, she couldn't believe it. "Lena…This is a mother and daughter event"

Nodding faintly, the girl's face showed little emotion. "Mommy was supposed to take me and I don't want Grandma Smurf going"

Jessica's heartstrings had pulled tight when she mentioned Catherine. It was clear that Lena was having issues without her Mom around as any child would her age. Pope had been doing a good enough job taking care of her with Jessica helping out whenever she could. It wasn't fair to her that Baz wasn't doing his part. Her words were caught in her throat, there was nothing she could say.

"I don't really like Lucy either so I wanted you to take me" Lena said sitting back in her chair.

"Lucy? How do you know…You know what, where is a pen?" After hearing Lucy's name, she wasn't aware that she had been around Lena. She knew that Baz was cheating on Catherine while they were together but had no idea that she was brought around Lena. After the girl quickly dug in her bag for a black pen, Jessica didn't hesitate signing her name on the dotted line. "There, you and I have a date two weeks from now so how about we don't tell Grandma Smurf or Lucy"

"I like that idea…Thank you Aunt Jessica" After tucking the paper back inside of her folder, Lena pushed it towards her bookbag then turned to her. She got off the chair, leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Jessica. The hug was gentle as Lena didn't want to hurt her arm.

Baz had walked into the kitchen after fixing the bedroom that Jessica had slept in. He also went to clean Lena's up while he was at it but stopped in his tracks when he saw the two of them. Smirking faintly, he grabbed a cup of coffee as Lena let go of Jessica.

"Hey Lena, can you go get your jacket and shoes on. I'm taking you to school this morning"

Nodding at him, the little girl skipped off to go get her things before school. Jessica debated on telling Baz that she was taking Lena to a school dance but wondered if she should keep it a surprise. Then again, she doubted he even knew about it considering she spent most of her time with Pope.

Taking a seat across from Jessica, Baz watched her reached for the bookbag before helping her with it. "What's that?" He asked nodding his head towards the folder.

Oh it's nothing…" Tucking it back inside, Jessica held the shiny bag in her lap. "There's a mother/daughter dance at her school. She asked if I could go with her so I signed the paper" At the moment she was too lazy to even mention that Lena knew Lucy.

He hadn't said anything but took a sip of his coffee. Baz had to process it but didn't have a problem whatsoever. "Good, I'm glad that she wanted you to go. It's better than Smurf taking her"

"I wasn't aware that you were going back to school?" Smurf joked coming in from the living area to see Lena's bookbag in Jessica's lap. She had showed up right on the heels of his sentence, he took another drink once she appeared in the kitchen.

"I think I'm a little too old to carry around a bookbag covered in unicorns. Maybe if I were twelve again but not while I'm thirty-three" Jessica replied playing around on her plate for a second.

"Thank God…I've got one kid to take care of now, I don't need a second" Baz commented

"It's my bookbag Grandma Smurf…I'm ready for school now" Lena said as she waited in the doorway.

Baz took one last drink before standing up. Fishing around in his pants pocket for the keys, he had looked over at Jessica who was watching him silently. "I'll be back soon, okay?"

Smurf had been washing a few dishes in the sink keeping her eyes locked on them. She knew for a fact that they had spent the night together because she knew everything that went on in her house. The two of them had still been acting like nothing was going on but it was clear to everyone what was going on. Baz was paying more attention to her than the others for obvious and different reasons. They both knew that Baz and Julia couldn't have been a thing so they couldn't be together either, as long as Smurf was present.

"Would you do me a favor Baby?" Smurf asked waiting for Baz to turn around to see her. "I've got a list of things I need to do for the day. I need new security cameras, a few groceries and rent from some of my buildings. Could you do these after you drop Lena off?"

She pointed her head towards the refrigerator where there had been a piece of paper hanging. J had usually done the trips to get the rent but he was going to school. Besides that, she had a plan in mind that she wanted Baz to follow. Smiling warmly at him, Smurf raised her eyebrows waiting for an answer.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he debated on doing her chores. Baz didn't want to leave Jessica at the house by herself for a couple of reasons. "Um…Yeah I guess I can"

Moving towards her list, he picked it up and scanned it over. Smurf had continued to wash her dishes while occasionally glancing up to look at her daughter. After Lena insisted they were going to be late, Baz eventually left and the two Cody women were the only ones in the kitchen.

Jessica hadn't said a word to her Mother since their first interaction as she wasn't sure she could say anything. She was still furious with her on how she handled everything with Javi leading to her injuries. Getting up from the table, Jessica picked up her plate and stepped over to the garbage to scrape the rest of her food off. Waiting for Smurf to finish the dish she had in her hand, she handed it to her.

"What the breakfast okay? It was Lena's choice this morning" She asked her.

"It was fine, thanks" Jessica responded simply, wanting to keep it brief.

Her daughter turned away and went back to the kitchen table. She scooped up her coffee and held it in her hand while staring out the patio doors. Smurf finished at the sink before drying her hands off in the towel. "Is something bothering you? Are you in any pain?"

"Well let's see. My head is pounding, my nose hurts and on top of it, my arms stings like a bitch. I can't even move because my ribs kill so let's just say I'm having loads of fun right now" She said back before taking a glance at Smurf.

Brushing off her sarcasm, Smurf went to pour herself a cup of coffee. She walked over to the chair that Baz was in and sat down. "Have you taken anything for it?"

"Pope gave me some aspirin last night, you know I can't take anything else"

Taking another drink out of her cup, Jessica watched Smurf dig in her jacket pocket. Pulling out an orange tube, she knew exactly what was it in.

"Smurf…" She said the mug down and watching in disbelief.

"Craig gave me some of these this morning. I asked him so I could give them to you. You're in pain Jessica, I understand that. You need something to take the edge off"

Shaking her head, she kept her eyes on them for a second then looked up towards her Mother. "I…I can't. You know what's going to happen"

"Look at you Jessica, you are a strong girl and you always have been. You held your own against Javi didn't you?"

"And got the shit beat out of me, let's face the facts" Jessica lifted her arm faintly still locking eyes with Smurf.

Smurf looked at her sternly. She knew that her daughter was furious, she knew that she was hurting and she knew exactly how to bend this to her advantage. One thing about the Cody Matriarch was that she didn't like when things didn't go as planned or if they didn't work in her favor. She was able to pick apart something and make it work, something she was trying to do now.

"But you held on didn't you? You know exactly how our family works and I know you wouldn't ever put this family in jeopardy. I shouldn't have trusted Jake with the money and I should have gotten you sooner. I never wanted any of this to happen but you stayed strong for all of us. You shouldn't have to suffer because of a mistake that I made, that Javi made"

Listening to her words, Jessica took a breath and looked away from her. She traced her finger on the coffee mug not knowing how to even answer she. A lot of times she questioned whatever Smurf told her because she took it with a grain of salt. It was hard having her as a Mother due to that fact but Jessica always tried making the best out of situations.

Even though she was angry with Smurf, Jessica had no choice but to be around her as Smurf wouldn't let her go so easily. "Yeah well…" She still couldn't put a sentence together so she lifted her eyes back in her direction.

Pointing her head towards the medication, Smurf stood back up and moved closer to the blonde. She bent down and kissed Jessica on the top of her head, something she did to all of her children. Once again, she wasn't sure how to receive the attention or the flattery. It was common for her but Jessica was feeling down and out, all she had in the end was her family.

Backing away, Smurf picked up her coffee and strolled into the living room. Putting her focus back onto the pill bottle, Jessica couldn't believe she was going to grab them as she was on the fence still. Snatching them up with her free hand, Jessica got up the best she could and scurried out of the kitchen. She wanted to head back to her bedroom for silence and peace. Passing Craig's room, she stepped past then moved backwards after noticing he was lying on his bed and that Nicky and J were gone.

Pausing in the doorway, Craig had was lying across the bed on his stomach and only looked up when he saw feet. He knew it was her by her baby blue nail polish and was relieved that Nicky had gone to school instead of hanging around the house.

"Wow…You look like shit. How's it going?" He commented looking her over before resting his chin on his knuckles.

"I feel exactly how I look but thanks for sharing your thoughts" She replied before raising the orange tube. "What are these?"

Squinting to see the bottle, he sat a little straighter before shaking his head. "I can't read that from here, toss em" Doing as he asked, Craig caught it before sitting up in order to check them out. The bottle didn't have a label on them but he knew they were something heavy. "I have no idea, I probably scored these off of someone at a party. Where did you find them?"

"It doesn't matter…Can I have them back?" Craig had been flipping the bottle in his hand while opening the cap to see if he could figure out what they were when she asked. Stopping to look at her, Jessica's eyes were set to him and it gave him a flashback of previous times. It wasn't the first time that he was put in this situation and he always felt that he was a supplier. Snapping the top shut, he held it up.

"Are you seriously going to take these? I thought you were taking the almighty road of recovery" He said debating on handing the bottle back. "You know Baz will kick my ass if he finds out"

"Jesus Craig, I'm just taking medication not snorting a line of cocaine. I can I please just have it back?" She asked again moving a little ways into the room. She wanted to snatch it out of his hand as she was at a good reach but couldn't due to her arm. Jessica kept her blue eyes on him until he held it out for her to take. "I control my life, Baz doesn't"

"Well it doesn't seem like that" He commented lowly but loud even that she would be able to hear him. It caught her attention once she walking away so Jessica stopped in the doorway yet again. She spun around to see him.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean…" He wasn't in the mood to get into an argument with her considering all that they have gone through in the past few days. It wasn't the direction he wanted to go in either because he and Jessica always clashed but this wasn't the right time. She narrowed her eyes at him and he rolled around on his bed not answering.

"I asked you a question Craig, what are you trying to imply?" Jessica questioned him again.

Biting his tongue, Craig's eyes lingered towards the ceiling thinking that if he ignored her that she would just go away. It worked when they were younger but she didn't seem to budge now. Sighing heavily, he knew he had to say something or she wouldn't leave.

"Every time you are around him Jessica you are a different person. You're not going to admit it but you two are not hiding anything. Everyone knows including Smurf so you can quiet pretending. Baz controls everything you do and you go along with it. He's trying to compete with Smurf, he was doing that before you came back. Baz wants control of this family, including you because he knows he can"

Craig raised his eyes to glance at her knowing that he was about to hear a mouthful from her. They always acted like true sibling as both did something the irritate the other. He was used to it by now so he quietly waited for her to say something…Except she didn't. Jessica's eyes had been lowered to the floor, clearly hearing everything he said but she never opened her mouth once. She simply turned away, stepped down the hall and into her old room.

Two hours had gone by since the previous events and Baz was back at the house. He wanted to get all of them into a family meeting because he had yet to tell them about lending Smurf the money. None of them knew that he gave up a large chunk of their church money and if they found out before he told them, all hell would break lose. Pope was the first to arrive as usual since Jessica and Craig were already at Smurf's.

Baz sat by the fireplace in the main room where they always held any meeting, mostly about jobs. Pope took his usual place across from him on the couch, Craig sprawled out towards his left and Jessica plopping down in the chair. She had been rubbing her forehead since she sat down which caught Baz's attention but he brushed it off for the time being. J had still been in school so no one had to worry about him at the moment.

Deran came walking in from the kitchen and took a seat by Craig. "Alright I'm here, so what's this for because I've got shit to do" He said quickly turning his attention towards his older brother.

"Okay well then I'll try to make this quick then. You all remember when we got into the argument with Smurf about giving Javi money in order to get Jessica back right?" Baz was thankful that Smurf had stepped out of the house while he talked to them. "Well I haven't been honest with how this all went down…I had to give Smurf money from the church heist"

Craig was the first to jump in. "What? You gave Smurf our money?" He spoke with annoyance clear in his voice. Baz nodded in his direction yes which made Craig run a hand through his hair. "We haven't even split it yet and you give it to her?"

"I thought we had to launder it before doing anything with it?" Deran chimed in.

"We always do but after she gave Jake the money, she apparently had nothing else to give so I had to give her the cash. I made the call without telling any of you because we had no choice to"

The two Cody brothers now turned to Pope wanting to get his opinion as well. Jessica was listening but hadn't paid much attention due to the fact that she was kidnapped when it all happened. She also had pills running through her veins so she was off in her own world.

"How much money did you give her?" He finally spoke.

Baz glanced at all of them before speaking. "It was two hundred thousand but she's going to pay us back no matter what, I'll make sure of it" Craig had rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh. "What did you want me to do? Smurf wasn't going to give up any of her own money for Jessica to come back. This wasn't about us, this was about getting her back safe"

All the boys had looked towards their sister and she just lifted her head from her hand. Jessica looked between everyone because she hated when people stared at her. "What? This wasn't my fault if that's what your thinking"

"No one is blaming you, it's all on me. If I never trusted Jake, you wouldn't have been put through that" Smurf had been standing in the hallway, placed her hands on the bannister and leaned in their direction. "Javi's dead anyway so you don't have to worry about me paying you back. I'll have it in a month"

"Wait, what? Javi's dead?" Deran questioned dragging his blue eyes towards his Mother and then looked to Jessica for confirmation. Pope also had his eyes locked on her.

Smurf shook her head yes and moved away from her spot. She didn't say another word and strolled off into the kitchen in order to prepare dinner. She wanted to leave the discussion for Baz and Jessica hence the reason she ducked away quickly. Smurf was good at that, having the others dig themselves in a hole rather than her doing it to herself.

"That was my next point I was going to make, okay?" Baz said clasping his hands together and leaning forward on his knees.

"What the hell Baz? First you come tell us that you took half of our money and now Javi is dead…This is going to back fire on us" Craig jumped in again.

"No it's not. Smurf ordered him to get killed, she payed them all the money so they will leave us alone. Javi's crew were having problems with him already so she got rid of the problem" Baz replied back.

"Where were you?" Deran asking putting his eyes back on Jessica.

The blonde Cody had her head leaned back and snapped her eyes open when she felt a pair were on her again. Slowly lifting her head, she took a glance at Pope knowing he knew everything already. "I was standing right there, he was inches away from me and I watched Javi get his brains blown out. Does that work for you?"

Baz had been watching her movements wondering what was going on but he had seen her this way before. It reminded him of something, and he started wondering what he missed while he was gone. Jessica's eyes darted around the room again before setting her sights on her arm. "Look…I need to go to Mexico. I might need surgery"

Jessica bent her head forward in order to take the sling off. Slipping it over her head, she managed to unhook the front of it and took some of the bandage off that she wrapped it in last night. Without saying a word, she traced her fingers over the bruises and lump that was growing.

All the men watched her carefully with Craig making a face at how nasty it looked. Taking a deep breath, Baz turned away from her. "Okay…I guess I've said enough for now. Smurf will give us the money back, just take my word for it. Let's focus on everything else right now, alright?"

Finally coming to an agreement, they all went their separate ways except for Pope, Baz and Jessica. Wrapping her arm back up, she focused on that while Baz got up and stepped over to her. "I'll grab some of your things and I'll take you down to Mexico myself"

She ignored his comment while slipping the sling back over her head. Her wavy locks fell forward in front of her face so he couldn't if she heard him or not. Bending down next to her legs, he placed a hand on her knee while bobbing his head around to look at her. "Jess? Are you listening to me?"

Taking a look towards Pope, he was watching curiously due to her behavior. Jessica blew a piece of hair out of her face and finally spoke. "No, I want you to stay with Lena. I'll go and handle it myself"

"You can't even drive, you're not going across the border by yourself either. I'll take you to make sure everything is alright. We'll leave in a half hour so I can gather some of your things"

"I said no Baz. I don't want you to go"

Blinking his blue eyes, there had been ice in her voice and her sentence came out harsh. Pope leaned forward after hearing her and wondered what was going on as well. "I'll go. I'll make sure everything goes smoothly"

Shaking his head no, Baz turned to see him. "I should be the one going, not you"

"Would you rather it be Craig?" He questioned him knowing that Jessica would throw a fit if Baz ended up going. Pope didn't mind taking her just like he didn't mind helping her last night. Even though he didn't wear his emotions on his sleeve, he still had them much to everyone's surprise half of the time.

Pope had been making a valid point as he was the best fit to take Jessica besides Baz. He could also keep an eye on her because he too had noticed a shift in Jessica's behavior. Taking a deep breath while thinking it over, Baz agreed in order to avoid a conflict with her.

"Okay…I'll stay here and Pope can take you" He spoke again trying to look at her face. Jessica's eyes weren't making contact with either of them compared to before and Baz finally figured out why. Standing back up, he moved out of the way in order for her to grab whatever she wanted on her trip.

Getting up slowly, Jessica covered her mouth for a moment feeling a wave of nausea wash over her. She moved away from them after she got her balance back and started off to the hallway. Baz waited for a second before calling out to her.

"You know, I never should have left you here" Not only was Baz talking about the Javi situation, but he was referring to leaving her with Smurf in her presence.

Turning around to see him, Jessica finally put her eyes on him. "You're gonna have to leave me at some point.

Once Baz got a good look at her and looked into her eyes, he figured out it simply by that. Jessica made the mistake of looking at her as she was still close enough for him to see. Letting her leave, Baz turned to Pope and started to lay down the rules for Mexico.

The Cody siblings left almost an hour later leaving everyone at Smurf's. It was going to take them eleven hours to get there so they more than likely were going to stay for a day. Pope said he would keep him informed on what was going on and that was the best Baz was going to get. Part of him was glad she was out of the house because he wanted to talk to Smurf.

The matriarch had been fixing lunch in the kitchen for her boys. Smurf had sent her children off with lunch as well so now it was her turn to make everyone else something. Baz searched the house for her, found her and ordered her to step outside.

She didn't move and inch at his remark until she noticed him walking back and forth outside. Smurf knew exactly what he was going to confront her about but she could simply care less. Wiping her hands in a kitchen rag, she strutted outside and cracked the screen door just in case the others popped in.

"What happened while I was gone?" Baz asked stopping in place and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Nothing happen, what do you think went on?" She questioned back.

"What is she on? What did you give her to take?" He knew that Smurf had a hand in how Jessica was acting because she was fine when he left but there was something wrong by the time he came back.

Crossing her arms defensively, Smurf narrowed her eyes at him knowing that she was being accused of Jessica's actions. "I don't know Barry, maybe she dug in the medicine cabinet"

Whenever Smurf called him by he real name, she had either been angry or was making a point. It also gave Baz the advantage because he could see that she was lying to his face.

"That's bullshit and you know it. Jess's eyes are shot, her pupils are constricted and she could barely keep her head up. I know you gave her something because she wouldn't have gone digging for pills or anything else that is around here"

"How do you know? Maybe you should crawl out of her ass and let her make her own decisions. Just because you failed with Julia doesn't mean you should rub off on her"

Scoffing at her remark, Baz knew that a fight was going to explode between them but didn't think he'd be the one in the wrong. Smurf would never own up to any of her wrongdoings, that was expected. He just wanted her to admit that she pressed the drugs on Jessica.

"Look, she's down in Mexico with Pope and I have him keeping an eye on her. Jessica is going to fall back into her old ways unless one of us steps in this time around"

"Keep telling yourself that Baz. She's going to do what she wants but be my guest, try keeping her on a leash. I'd like to see how well that's going to work for you"

Staring Baz down, Smurf waited for him to walk away because he wasn't going to keep testing her. That was one thing she had control of in the family, the boys would never go against her. Baz was going to keep Jessica away from Smurf, Jessica would avoid Baz and Smurf would still be queen.