Disclaimers: I own nothing or anyone associated or affiliated with TNA. I own only the original characters. This is just a fictional story that came from my imagination.
Chapter Content & Trigger Warnings: none this chapter

Chapter 34

Jeff hurriedly walked down Seattle Medical Center's hallway, followed by Officer Finn Bálor and his partner, Officer Jackson. The young officer and his partner were assigned to stay with Jeff and Miracle at all times.

Jeff and the officers carried a few cans of Sprite and Coca Cola Jeff had bought at the vending machine down the hall from the surgical waiting room. Once they reached the waiting room, the men all sat down and popped open a can of soda.

Jeff was yet to hear any news about Joe, Miracle was still in Radiology receiving numerous scans and x-rays due to the bump and wound on her forehead, and Ella hadn't been found yet. To say the man was a nervous wreck, was putting it mildly. The only person who could help with Ella's whereabouts was Joe, and he probably wouldn't be able to speak logically for at least another day.

Fournier could have Ella out of the country by then, Jeff thought grimly. Then we'd never find her. He had no idea how his family and Joe would cope with losing her a second time—especially knowing what Fournier planned to do with her. He shuddered then, wondering what his niece had gone through already. His mind wandered to Miracle then and the thought of her broke his heart. How will the poor girl handle losing her mother?

"Thank you for staying and making sure we're all safe," he told the officers, trying to get his mind off the circumstances he couldn't control. "You don't know how much I appreciate it."

"Not a problem, Mr. Jarrett," Officer Bálor replied. "We-"

Miracle walked through the door then with another cop—by the name of North—and a female doctor. Jeff stood to his feet as the doctor looked questioningly at him, "I'm Doctor Hallmark. Are you Mr. Jarrett?"

Jeff nodded while Miracle sat down in a chair next to Bálor. "Is everything okay," he asked the doctor. "Has she got a concussion or anything?"

Dr. Hallmark smiled, "No, she's absolutely fine. She's probably going to have a bad headache for the next day or two, but other than that she's fine. I did give her a mild dose of a painkiller to get her through the worst of the pain. Tomorrow just give her Tylenol or Advil as needed. And of course get her back here if she starts to show any other symptoms or complications."

"Thank you so much, Doctor," Jeff said, relief evident on his face. "I was really worried."

"No need to thank me," the young doctor replied. "I'm happy to help."

"Uncle…Uncle Jeff," Miracle started, her mouth stumbling over the surreal words. It was still hard to believe she now had family besides her mother. "Have you heard anything about Daddy or Mama?"

Jeff's blue eyes dimmed with worry. "No, I haven't, darlin'." He felt even more horrible at seeing the young girl wilt before his eyes. "But I'm sure we'll hear something soon."

"What's their names," Dr. Hallmark cut in. "I could try to find out their conditions for you."

"Joe Seanoa is her father's name. Her mother…well, she isn't here. She's been kidnapped."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the doctor directed her sympathetic gaze at Miracle. "Seanoa… He was a gunshot victim, wasn't he?"

At their nod, she smiled warmly. "I'll see what I can find out, and will try to get someone to talk with you soon."

With that, she turned and left the room, leaving Jeff and Miracle to sit with the cops.

Jeff handed a can of Sprite over to Miracle and turned her face to his. "How does your head feel, sweetheart," he asked softly, inspecting the goose egg and small cut.

"It's okay," Miracle answered sleepily. "I don't feel much right now…the medicine I was given has made me so sleepy I don't really notice any pain."

Jeff nodded, "I know these chairs aren't very comfortable. Why don't you lie down on the sofa over there and try to get a little sleep," he suggested, indicating the large, three-seated couch against the far wall.

"We'd like to question her a little bit, first," Officer Bálor interjected, "While it's fresh in her mind."

"Are you up to that, honey," Jeff asked, not wanting the girl pushed beyond her limits.

She looked her uncle in the eye and said in a trembling voice, "I'll do whatever it takes to bring Mama back and to catch the man who hurt Daddy." A tear spilled down her cheek despite her best efforts.

It was then that Jeff could truly see Ella in her daughter.

"You're so like your mother," he whispered, speaking his thoughts. He wiped the tear from her cheek with his thumb. "You're brave, just like her."

Miracle smiled sadly, and turned to the officers. "What do you need to know? I'll answer anything I can, Officer..."

"Officer Jackson. Did you get the name of the cop who kidnapped you?"

She shook her head. "Well, I'm not sure if he was a real cop or not. But no, he didn't say his name out loud. But, I did see his nametag…" she closed her eyes trying to visualize it. "It said…S… S. McCartney—no…S. McCarthy. His name tag said S. McCarthy."

The three officers looked at one another in surprise.

"Do you know him," Jeff asked, seeing the recognition on their faces.

"Yes. He is a real cop—one of ours. And unless his uniform was somehow stolen and someone impersonated an officer, he's in a whole lot 'o trouble." Officer Bálor replied. He looked back at Miracle. "Can ya describe him? We try to make our records as detailed as possible."

"He was tall—about your height. He had brown eyes, I think, and his hair was dark. He had a mustache."

"That sounds like Steve all right," the third cop—Officer North—said, disgust on his face.

"And he's the one who gave ya the bump on your head," Bálor continued the interview.

"Yes. I was trying to get out of his car when he grabbed my hair and smacked my head against the dashboard."

"Well, that's assault on a minor, as well as kidnapping of a minor," Jackson said as he wrote down his own notes.

"Yeah, and we need to have his car looked at. See if there's blood on the dash that can be used as evidence," Officer North added.

"I say we book him and put him in a line-up for her to identify."

"Are ya willing t' do that, lass," Bálor asked her. "It will make our records more complete, and the more thorough we are the smoother things will go later on."

"Of course," Miracle answered immediately.

"Okay, we'll get him and hold him over night," Bálor replied. "Could you guys come by the station in the mornin' for the lineup? That way ya can get a little sleep first."

"Yeah, we can do that," Jeff answered.

"Good. Now," Officer Bálor went on. "Can you tell me what exactly happened?"

Miracle nodded, "I was at a sleepover. Officer McCarthy came to my friend's house really late and informed me that my mom was in a bad car accident. He told me he was to take me to the hospital. Once we were on the way, I knew pretty quickly that something wasn't right—he wouldn't answer any of my questions. He just ignored me completely…till I started screaming and trying to get out of the car. That's when he hit my head on the dash. Not long after that, we stopped in an alley and that's where I came in contact with Jacques Fournier."

"Ella told you about him," Jeff asked in astonishment.

"Yes, she thought I should know about him in case he ever crossed my path. She even showed me his photo." She paused a moment as fear entered her gaze. "He told me he was going to kill me."

Jeff looked horrified, but before he could speak Officer Bálor beat him to the punch.

"Did he tell you why?"

Miracle shrugged slightly. "He told me I was a mistake and wasn't supposed to happen. He also made it clear he was using me to get to Mom and that once he had her, he was going to kill me." Her dark eyes widened as she remembered some other vital details then. "Oh, and he must've had a lot of plastic surgery done—he looked nothing like the picture Mom showed me. He was going by the name Viktor Dankevych. He'd told my mom he was a detective."
"Could you give more detail on his appearance—enough to tell a sketch artist?"

Miracle nodded and started to answer verbally when a doctor walked into the room. His eyes instantly fell on Jeff and Miracle.

"Mr. Jarrett? Miracle Jones?"

They both nodded, their eyes fixed on the young doctor.

"Is Daddy going to be okay," Miracle asked, unable to hold the question back. Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of her father not surviving.

"He's still in surgery at the moment, but he's holding up well," the doctor replied. "I'm sorry, I'm Dr. Greenwich—a resident here at the hospital. I'm only assisting Dr. Coden in the surgery, which is why I was able to come talk with you. Mr. Seanoa, as I said, is doing well so far. He has a bullet lodged in his sternum. Luckily, because of that fact—the bullet missed any vital organs. We're just trying to get it dislodged now so that ballistics can have it for tests. It shouldn't be over another hour—tops."

"Since the bullet missed anything vital, he'll be okay," Jeff asked, needing clarification.

"Yes," the doctor replied, "Barring any infections or complications, he should pull through fine. He's a fighter, I can tell."

"Yes, he is—in every sense of the word," Jeff admitted. "Thank you so much doctor."

"Can we see him when he is through the surgery," Miracle cut in, tears of relief spilled down her cheeks.

"I'm sure you can probably see him for a few moments," Dr. Greenwich replied. "I'll discuss it with Dr. Coden and as soon as the surgery is over we'll come talk with you again."

"Thank you," Miracle and Jeff replied at the same time.

"I'm happy to help." The doctor smiled warmly at them then and exited the room, so he could return to the surgery.

Jeff felt much more optimistic about Joe's prognosis than before. He could see Miracle was still nervous, however. He pulled her into a hug, "Thank God you got away safely," he uttered, kissing the top of her head. He pulled back and took a good look at her. The thought of what could've happened frightened him. If Fournier wanted someone dead, ninety-nine percent of the time, they ended up dead. "How about you get that nap in," he asked, gently brushing his hand over her hair. "You could use some sleep."

Miracle nodded reluctantly, and yawned into her hand. "Okay, but promise to wake me up when we can see Daddy."

"I promise, honey," Jeff replied.

She looked over at the cops then, her eyes seeking approval. "Is it all right for me to sleep now?"

The Irishman nodded. "Sure, lass. We've got a good start here. We'll finish up tomorrow by having you pick the cop out of a lineup and then we'll get ya to describe this Jacques Fournier so our sketch artist can draw him and come up wit' an updated picture."

"You may also want to contact the Nashville P.D.," Jeff offered as Miracle moved over to the sofa against the wall and laid down. She was asleep within seconds. "Detectives Smith and Yandell handled the case of Ella's parents' murders in 1998," Jeff added, watching as the cops took notes and wrote down the names of the detectives.

"Thank you, Mr. Jarrett. We'll definitely be contacting them," Bálor replied, closing his notepad. The cops then quietly began discussing their line of action for the next day as Miracle slept and Jeff waited for more news.

A few moments later, when the cops quieted down, Jeff's mind began to wander and he realized he'd failed to call Nina.

How do I tell Nina that Joe found Ella, only to dash her hopes and say she's gone all over again, he wondered, pulling out his cell phone as we walked out into the hall with Officer North in tow. Not to mention the news of Joe being shot in the chest and a great niece we knew nothing of?

Hesitantly, he highlighted Nina's cell phone number and tapped the "dial" icon. Within a few rings, he heard his wife's sleepy voice speak. "Jeff?"

"Yeah, it's me, Sugar. Listen, I'm sorry to call you so late like this, but-"

"What's happened?"

Jeff sighed. His wife's intuition was impeccable. "Something bad," he answered. "I don't have all the details yet, but here's a condensed version of what I know right now." He took a deep breath and got it all out. "Joe discovered Ella to be alive tonight, but Fournier found them shortly after. He shot Joe and took Ella, after kidnapping Ella and Joe's daughter—he was using her to get to Ella."

There was a long silence followed by, "WHAT?"

"I know what you mean," Jeff replied. "I can't believe it all myself. From what I can gather, Ella faked her death and ran away. She must've gotten pregnant that night though, because she had a little girl. Her name is Miracle, and she's just beautiful, Nina. You're going to love her."

All he could hear was his wife's sobs.

"Honey, I know it's a lot to take in, but we're going to do everything we can to find Ella, I promise."

"My God," Nina cried. "What about Joe? Is he going to be alright?"

"Yes," Jeff answered. "He was shot in the chest, and the bullet lodged in his sternum. Because of that, nothing vital was hit. The doctor said as long as he doesn't get any infections and no complications arise, he'll be fine."

"Thank God," Nina whispered.

"Yes, the good Lord was with him," Jeff agreed. He suddenly worried about his wife and daughters being at home without protection. "Baby, I want you to get the girls and come to Seattle—as soon as possible," Jeff told her. "I don't know that Fournier won't come after you—especially if we save Ella."

"Okay, I'll get us packed right now and will catch the soonest flight available."

"Thanks, honey," Jeff said softly. "I'm staying at the Hilton. I'll call ahead and have them switch me to a two bedroom suite. That way we and the girl's all have privacy, but they'll be safe in the same hotel room with us. I'll let them know you're coming and to give you a key to the new room. Once you get checked in and everything, come to Seattle Medical Center. Miracle and I are in the surgical waiting room. It's on the fourth floor."

"Okay, got it," Nina said, "I've written everything down. I'll get us there as soon as I can. If I see it's going to take a really long while to get a flight, I'll call you and let you know."

"Alright, babe," Jeff said. "Y'all travel safe."

"We will. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Then he ended the call and went back to his chair in the waiting room, resting till the doctor came to update them on Joe.

}i{}i{}i{}i{

After dropping their luggage off at the hotel room, Nina and the girls caught another taxi and headed for Seattle Medical Center.

"When did you talk to Daddy last," twenty-year-old Kayla asked her mother, as they rode to the hospital. There hadn't been much time to discuss the situation. "Did he say if he'd gotten to see Uncle Joe yet?"

Even though Joe was married to their cousin, the girls had grown up from toddler-hood thinking of him as their uncle.

"I called him right before we left on our flight while you two were in the restroom," Nina answered. "He'd gotten to see Joe for a few minutes, but that was all. He said Joe didn't wake up or anything. It'll probably be tomorrow before that happens."

"Has he heard anything about Ella yet," sixteen-year-old Jennifer asked.

"No," Nina replied sadly, toying with the strap of her handbag. "Joe's the only witness to what really happened to Ella. Your second cousin only knows a little of what happened—she's the one who ran and got help, so she didn't see what happened."

"What's her name," the girls asked simultaneously. Despite the sadness and horror of what had happened, they were eager to meet their new cousin.

"Her name is Miracle," Nina told them. "And I'm sure she's a very scared little girl. Try not to bombard her, girls. There'll be plenty of time to get to know her."

"Don't worry, Mom," Kayla answered, taking her mom's hand affectionately. "We're not going to do anything to scare her. We'll take her under our wing and take care of her."

"I know," Nina smiled softly, patting her daughter's hand. "Miracle will not want for love in this family, that's for sure."

They reached the hospital minutes later and headed straight for the elevators. Once she punched in the button for the fourth floor, Nina let out a soft sigh. There was an anxiousness in her heart she couldn't shake.

How much more can this family take, she wondered. Will we be able to help Joe and care for his and Ella's daughter? What if she's so horribly scarred by this that she requires a kind of care we can't provide?

The elevator doors dinged then and slid open. Nina led her daughters down the long hallway, following the signs overhead which directed them to the surgical waiting room. She found a cop standing guard at the door and hesitated for a moment.

"Is—Is Jeff Jarrett in there," she asked softly.

"What's your name," the officer asked. "I can't give out any info if you aren't related to him."

"I'm Nina Jarrett—his wife. And these are our daughters—Kayla and Jennifer."
"Nina?"

Nina looked past the officer to see Jeff heading to the door and brushing past the officer on guard.

"Jeff!"

"Darlin', you ladies are a sight for sore eyes," he said, stepping into the hallway. He pulled his wife and daughters into his arms and hugged them close. "I love y'all so much."

"We love you too," they all replied, returning his hug.

"How is Joe," Nina asked as Jeff led them into the waiting room. She faltered at seeing three more cops seated in the room as well—one of which sat on a sofa next to a sleeping girl. "Has he woken yet?"

"Only for a moment," Jeff answered. "A nurse told me he asked for me, but by the time I got to him, he'd fallen asleep again. Another nurse also told me he'd said Ella's and Miracle's names."

"Poor Uncle Joe," Kayla said softly.

"I know," Jeff agreed. "He's got a rough time ahead of him."

Nina finally asked about the girl lying on the sofa. "Is that Miracle," she whispered.

"Yes," Jeff smiled sadly. "She's been through a lot."

Miracle stirred then, and opened her eyes. She jolted at seeing three unfamiliar faces staring at her.

Bálor reached over and placed his hand on her shoulder. "You're safe, lass," he spoke softly. "You have some visitors."

"It's okay, sugar," Jeff added. "This is my wife and daughters—your aunt and cousins.

"My family," Miracle whispered hopefully. Drowsiness still clouded her dark eyes as she looked them over. They have kind faces, she thought with relief. Hopefully they're not angry at Mom for what she did years ago.

"Yes, we're your family," Nina smiled, and sat down on the other side of the young girl, pulling her into her arms. "I'm so sorry for what you're going through, honey," she said softly, hugging Miracle close. "But we're here with you every step of the way." She smiled again and brushed some hair off Miracle's forehead. "You look like both of your parents," she said. "You have your daddy's eyes and your mother's nose and mouth."

Miracle nodded, sadness in her black eyes, "That's what my mom always told me."

"Did Ella ever mention us," Jennifer asked. "Did she miss us?"

Miracle hated to tell them the truth, but she'd always been raised to do exactly that.

"No, I'm sorry. She didn't mention you, but I'm sure she missed you. I think she didn't mention you in order to protect you all. She only mentioned my Daddy to me—and that was because I begged her to tell me about him. Though one night I did see a picture of you," she said, directing her gaze to Jeff. "She was showing me what Daddy looked like, and you two were in a wrestling match together." She took a deep breath then. "I never told Mom, but ever since that night, I watched Impact on Thursday nights." She smiled slightly, "I cried whenever Daddy wasn't on. I wanted so badly to meet him. And finally I did, but it was only long enough for him to tell me to…" she trailed off and swallowed hard, fighting the lump in her throat. "He told me to run for help. That's all I got to see of him, or hear from him."

"It'll be okay, pumpkin," Jeff said, patting her shoulder. "God will see us all through this. Soon, you'll hear your Daddy speak to you again. And you'll have all the time in the world with him. And as soon as possible, we'll bring your Mama home where she belongs too."

Miracle nodded again. "Has there been any word on Daddy since we saw him last?"

"He's resting still," Jeff answered. "He's going to be fine, Miracle. It's just going to take a little time for him to heal and get well. We have to take it a day at a time, okay?"

"I know," Miracle said, tears welling up in her eyes. "It's just…Mama…I'm so scared. And Daddy…"
"I know, sugar, I know," Jeff said, sitting down and pulling her onto his lap. "I know it's scary for you. But we're going to help you through it. And we're going to do everything we can to find Ella."

The young girl finally allowed herself to break down into a fit of sobs. The heart-wrenching cries shook her slight frame uncontrollably. She wrapped her arms around Jeff's neck and held on as she cried.

"That's it. Let it out," Jeff drawled softly in her ear as he jostled her slightly. "Have a good cry. It'll help you feel better."

Tears burned his eyes as well as he held his youngest niece.

The Jarretts seemed to all be thinking of the same thing as they wrapped their arms around one another and huddled around Jeff and Miracle. A feeling of love surrounded them in the little waiting room, and Jeff knew with all his heart—that everything would be okay.