Heather created the game plan of what she wanted to do based on our conversation. She added other things into her outline – budgeting to create a savings plan, doing the paternity test, and so on. Not only was she finished her plan by the end of the day, she also had made appointments for the psychologist and the sports therapist and to do the paternity test. Her first appointment with the psychologist was scheduled for the next day – she had been able to get a cancellation, which she was thrilled about, and the sports therapist appointment was for a week away, which she was also happy about. She had researched the various mentoring programs and had decided that the Big Sister program was one that she would be interested in volunteering in, and was investigating what she needed to do to volunteer. By the end of the day, she had sent me an email telling me everything she had done and thanking me for giving her a kick in her butt and getting her to become proactive again. "For the first time in a long time, I feel positive about the future and I feel good about myself. Thank you", she said.

I smiled when I read the message. "Hey, Heather. I'm glad you had a good day. I knew that you had the start of an excellent game plan when you left here, but the plan you sent me was incredibly better than even what you had come up with earlier in the day. You put in things that I hadn't thought of, and the plan became much fuller, more useful than I had imagined. It will provide a good map for you to follow. I'm glad that you included the paternity test. While I think we both know what it is going to say, I also think having all doubt taken from the question of your paternity is a courageous thing to do. As long as you are prepared for the fact that it may make you sad, on the other hand having all doubt removed from knowing Colin is not your father will be sort of freeing. It doesn't answer questions, but it does allow you to rise above the questions and move on. It will allow you to accept that Colin didn't reject you and, in fact, no one rejected you. You also have to remember that, no matter what the results are, I will continue to support you and cheer you on. It is you that is important, not your paternity. And you are a fabulous person who deserves support, the kind of person that I deeply want to become friends with.

"I have to go. Ranger is shooing me into bed again. He says that I need to sleep. I'm not exactly sure why. I only woke up two hours ago. However, two months ago, my fallopian tube burst and when they went to do the surgery, they found out that I was pregnant with twins and that both pregnancies were ectopic. I almost died and they had to do an emergency hysterectomy. The next day, I developed a bad case of pneumonia from the anesthetic used in the surgery. They gave me a strong antibiotic, which we found out that I was allergic to. My throat was swelling and they had to do emergency treatment, and I again almost died. Coming out of that I had difficulty moving because of the hysterectomy, difficulty breathing because of the pneumonia, and Ranger was exceedingly anxious. I'm six weeks into the recovery period for the hysterectomy, six weeks into the recovery period for the pneumonia, and equally as upset as Ranger. Kai, who you met, is a doctor and he has put me on complete bedrest for a couple of days, and wants me working up to being able to be up for a full day over the next month. He will then let me work again as long as I work half-days. We were only supposed to be in Scotland for a month to a month-and-a-half, but it looks like I am going to be in Scotland for much longer. As much as it's beautiful here, I don't have a lot of patience with being relegated to a bed and being cut off work is frustrating. So now that you've heard my whining, I hope you have a good evening and I will talk to you tomorrow."

I shut down the email to Heather and opened one to Miguel and Dirk and Nick. "Hey guys, it sounds like you didn't appreciate my jokes. Okay, I've got a new one for you. What do you get when you cross an insomniac, a philosopher, and a dyslexic?

"A person who stays up all night contemplating the meaning of dog.

"It's been an exciting day here. The person who had come kicked me in the abdomen, snuck into the castle today and held me at gunpoint. I've been held at gunpoint enough to know that she wasn't really serious though. She wasn't a killer. She just wanted to matter to someone, wanted someone to care about her. So, after I talked to her and then Ranger talked to her, we offered her a choice. First, we could call the police and have her arrested again. Alternatively, we could help guide her into reclaiming her life. She picked the second option. She has already made an appointment with a counsellor to help her deal with her anger and her feelings of abandonment. She has made an appointment with a sports therapist to ease her back into running again. She had broken her ankle two months ago. She has also created a game plan of things to do, has made an appointment to do a paternity test, has looked into volunteer opportunities and has created a weekly schedule of when she will do what. She is adding structure to her day, and she says it feels great. I am very proud of her. She is trying so hard. I think she is going to be okay. After working with my resentful sister, it is nice to work with someone who is trying.

"How are you three doing? I've been worried about you all day. Just remember, if you need more time off, take it. Hal and I talked about that today, so he is prepared to give you the time if you need it.

"I think that is about it. Take it easy."

I sent it off, and a few minutes later, I got a response from Dirk. "Thank you for your email this morning. Your comments meant a lot to me and based on what you said I calmed down quite a bit. I even slept for a while with the baby this afternoon, and I am tired again for this evening. I have my psychologist's appointment tomorrow, and although I think that will be helpful, your comments that have meant the most. I have to admit that I had started crying when I read them.

"So it sounds like you have discovered a new person to take under your wing. Why does that not surprise me? =) Are you hiring her for the Research department too?

"Take it easy and remember to rest. While it turned out okay, you still need to deal with being held at gunpoint. Even though it's commonplace for you, you still need to deal with the emotions associated with it. Have a good sleep."

Nick responded as well. "So you have taken a new person under your wing? As I have told you before, you are a healer and this Heather is lucky that you have taken her into your fold. I know that, without you and Ranger, I would have never healed the way I did. My life, my kids, are all because of you. I never thought that my life would ever be so good.

"I got the wallpaper off in the dining room, and I think having the space from work was good for me. I feel much more balanced. I did my therapy appointment, which is always good. That made me feel more balanced as well. I'm taking tomorrow off, and I think that I am going to make the dough to make homemade pizzas. Homemade pizzas aren't something that we have often, just because they take some time. The kids love them though, as they like to pick out their toppings and spread them on. They are always so proud of their pizzas. Personally? I'm just looking forward to pounding the dough.

"I think that's about it. I'm glad that you are okay, and that you've been able to save another person. Take it easy, remember to rest, and remember that we love you."

I opened up the last email, from Miguel. "That joke was terrible! I, of course, laughed my head off. Kate liked it too. I'm never going to look at a dog the same again.

"The day off was good for me and, in talking to Dirk and Nick, it was good for them as well. Having a break from work allowed my upset to recede. Kate said that she notices a difference in the level of tension in my body. I hope that I will be able to sleep tonight. If not, you might be getting more emails. I know they helped me last night, and I was able to go back to bed for a couple of hours. Kate was happy about that as well.

"I'm going to go. Knowing you, you've been dealing with Heather all day, and you are now overtired. I just wanted to make sure you knew that your comments were helpful. Like usual, you soothed the three of us and all of us are more comfortable with life. Thank you."

I shut down my tablet as Ranger came in. He smiled softly at me. "So you added another person onto your list to mentor", he said.

I snorted. "She just needs someone to believe in her. Now that she has us guiding her, she has done an incredible amount of work and I think she is going to be okay."

"Just don't take all your time up with guiding people. I know that you still keep in touch with former skips as well."

"I know. However, most people I only check in with once every couple of weeks. Heather is a bit of a special case. I feel really bad for her. I may not be getting along with my family right now, but I still care for them. I still love them immensely."

Ranger sighed.

"That look doesn't look good. What have Val and my mother been up to?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay. Hit me."

"You got six calls from Val today, five from your mother, ten from your grandmother, and one from Vinnie, two from Lula, and one from Connie. Vinnie told you to get your house in order. He said that Val has called and asked Vinnie to garnish your wages to give her the money that she needs. When he told her that you no longer work for him, she asked him whether she could work for him and then get a job at Rangeman. After Vinnie finished laughing, he said that what you do is special. You were very good at figuring out where the skips were and Rangeman was very good at picking them up. He said he would not be changing that pattern as that pattern was working well for him. So Val told him that if you could figure out where people were located, she could do it better. Vinnie laughed again and told her that you were the best person on the eastern seaboard for finding people, maybe even in the entire country, and he was glad that he had been the first person to sign up for your services.

"Apparently she has been harassing Connie and Lula as well. Lula told her that she'd been providing her own money for rent, food and clothing since she was thirteen, and she wasn't helping Val do something that she'd been doing for years. She said her mother had barely even known who she was, but Val's mother provided a loving example to her daughter, had cared for her children and had loved her children immensely. She said she asked Val, first of all, what she was teaching her kids and second of all, whether her mother would be proud of her for looking for a hand-out. Apparently, Connie just hung up on her."

"Oh boy. What about my grandmother?"

"She was abusive, and called you names for not helping Val. She said that she could use a little extra cash as well. She said that she hadn't been out to the Shore for a while, and she was feeling lucky."

"Wait – she wants us to give her money so that she can gamble?"

"Apparently."

"Jesus. I bet divorce is looking really good now."

Ranger laughed.

"What did my mom say?"

"She called with an apology. The first time she called, I answered and said that you could not answer the phone. I explained that between the stress that Val was putting on you and the fact that someone attacked you yesterday and hurt you, Kai was putting you on complete bedrest for a few days. He wanted your body protected from further trauma and your heart and mind protected from further stress. I explained that Kai was worried about you and that he wanted to ensure that no further damage occurred. When she expressed that she was surprised we thought that Val was causing a lot of stress, I told her that everyone expected you to roll with the punches, and they didn't take into account that their behavior impacted how you feel. I said that you were always so happy and smiley that they didn't realize that it was all a front, and I told her that I was tired of hearing you cry yourself to sleep over the horrible things that Val or Grandma said, of seeing you worry about her when Val was being unfair, just because you know of the pressure it would put upon your mother. I said that you were a good person and, on the two days that you almost died, it was not fair for Val to tell you that God was going to kill you. It was not fair for Val to expect you to give your salary to her because she wanted it. It was not fair for Val to be abusive to you or to put pressure on your mother when you refused. I also said that, out of self-protection, I would encourage all people that put unfair pressure on you to be cut out of your life. I told her that you weren't well. In the last two months you'd had a hysterectomy, a severe case of pneumonia, anaphylaxis, and had been handling the demise of your twin embryos, a merger of two companies, a fraud charge and the death of a good friend. And on top of all that, your staff were grieving and you were counselling them through a situation with an Amber Alert that went very wrong. I said it was a lot, you were still recovering, and Val has made a difficult situation intolerable. And so has your mom."

"Oh boy. What did she say?"

"She said she was sorry, that she hadn't meant to make your life challenging, and that she loved you immensely. I made her cry, but I think she honestly listened. She hung up, but she called again a few minutes later to ask if you could call back when you were feeling better or up to talking, and she promised to not talk about Val. She said that she just wants to talk to you. It bothered her that she hadn't known of everything that was going on in your life."

"I'll call her tonight."

"I brought up your phone."

"What did Val say?"

"Same old, same old."

I swiped some tears away from my eyes.

"I'm sorry, babe."

"That's okay. I actually think that you've worked miracles by opening up the lines of communication with my mother again."

Ranger smiled sadly. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore. Tired. There are so many people in my life that need help, and I am trying to provide it to everybody. I feel bad because I feel like I am failing. The guys, though, said my comments were helpful and they made them feel better, so I am happy about that. It's hard, as I want to be there and provide support, but I want to be here to provide support as well. And, in actuality, since I am grounded I am not providing support to anyone."

"But the guys said that you helped?"

"Yes. I'm particularly pleased about Dirk. Last night, he didn't sleep all night. He just played on the computer and repeatedly checked on the health and wellbeing of his kids. He said that he was worried that he was going to have to go on medication again. He felt that desperate. I emailed back and forth with him, and he told me that my comments and support caused him to cry with relief and he actually slept for a while with the baby today."

"Thank God."

"I told him to take more time if he needs it. I talked to Hal today to set up the guys taking more time. Apparently, Hal told them to take two days off and make sure they see their therapists. The guys were thankful for that."

"You're worried about them."

"They're my team and they are some of my closest friends. I'm very worried about them."

"Hal will take care of them, babe. So will Tank. Like you, the Gurus are some of their closest friends as well."

"I think that Heather is going to be okay."

"I think so as well. Babe, you may be grounded right now, but you are still providing incredible value in other people's lives."

"But I'm not helping Val."

"I've learned in life that you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink. Babe, you provided the opportunity to Val. She chose not to partake of it. That is her choice to make. Just like it is your choice to retract that opportunity when it was confirmed that she didn't want to take advantage of it. It is your choice not to be a patsy, and that is a fair choice to make. That doesn't mean that you have to change the rules to pacify Val. It means that you can retract the offer though. And personally? Even if she decided to do all those things again that we had asked of her, I don't think we should renew the offer. To me, she has burned those bridges and they should not be resurrected again. It is, of course, up to you. It is your sister. However, that is where I stand."

"Fair enough."

"Do you want to call your mother? Or do you want to go to sleep for the night?"

"Call my mother. I miss her."

"I'm not surprised. You're an incredibly family-oriented person." He handed me my phone, kissed me lightly, and left the room.