"I came to see you Jordan. I've been checking in with your doctors and they've said you've been making progress and agreed that it would be good if I came to see you."
"Ben, I didn't think that you would ever want to see me after what I did to you and to Ciara," she says as tears begin to fall from her eyes.
I stand up and walk over to her, "I won't lie, it took me some time to work through being hurt and angry after everything that happened, but how can I expect people to forgive me or move on from what I've done if I can't do the same thing for you."
I open my arms and wait. She tentatively walks to me and I wrap my arms around her while she cries. "Shh…Jordan, it's okay. You were sick, just like I was when I committed my crimes. You just need to keep on working toward getting better, and when you get out, I'll be there for you and you will be able to see David again."
She pulls away from me and smiles at the mention of David. "How is my little boy? He must be so big already." He gives a small laugh and wipes away at her tears with her forearm.
I motion for her to sit down in the chair opposite of where I was sitting and then take my own seat.
"I'm sure he's fine. I haven't seen him since the day he arrived in Salem. I asked Rafe to talk to you about letting me see David even if it meant being supervised. He said when he came to see you and ask about me seeing David that you were adamant that I not be allowed to see him."
Jordan shakes her head in disbelief and scrunches her brow, "Rafe never asked me about letting you see David."
"He didn't?" I huff.
"No, I haven't seen Rafe in probably two months."
I shake my head. I'm disappointed, to say the least. I wish Rafe hadn't lied to me. If he didn't want me to see David that's all he had to say. I wouldn't have liked it, but I would have understood. "So Rafe lied to me. Wow. I…"
"You want to see David?"
"I do."
"Then you have my permission to go and see him. I'll ask the nurse if I can call him later today and tell him you have my permission," she gives a small smile.
"Thanks, Jordan. You and David are the only family I have. Well, you along with Ciara and the…" I trail off not knowing how Jordan is going to react to this news.
"Ciara and the what, Ben?"
I expel the breath I was holding and then speak, "Ciara is pregnant, with twins. We're having twins." The grin on my face is so huge right now I don't know how my face isn't cracking.
"Wow, Ben. You look thrilled."
"I am. I'm so excited."
"Congratulations, Ben."
"Thank you. I'm going to be such a good dad to these babies. I want to do everything I can to give them and Ciara the best life. I figure if I do the exact opposite of Clyde, I will be fine."
The color drained from her face and she immediately wrapped her arms around herself at the mention of my father's name. I instantly regret bringing him up, but at the same time if both of us are going to continue to heal we need to talk about this. I reach out my hand to her across the table and she accepts it. I stroke my thumb over the back of her hand with the hope that it will help to soothe her.
"Jordan what did he do to you?"
She squeezes my hand, "Ben you don't want to know," and shakes her head looking down at our joined hands.
"I have my suspicions about what he did, but I don't know for sure. What did he do?"
"I'll tell you," she says wiping another tear from her cheek, "but you have to promise me something."
"Okay, promise you what?"
"You have to promise me that you aren't going to do anything to ruin your life again. You aren't going to go after Clyde, he's not worth it."
"Fine. I promise I won't go after him. Now tell me, what did he do to you?"
Jordan took a deep breath and then after a few moments, as if she is mustering up the courage from within to tell me, and uttered the words I dreaded would be the truth, "He raped me, and he got me pregnant."
I release the breath I was holding and squeeze her hand a bit harder. I had suspected that he had raped her, but the fact that she had been pregnant, that was a shock. I can feel rage begin to course through my body, but I promised her I wouldn't go dark. I take another deep breath and slowly let it out, "Go on Jordi, tell me what happened."
"Mom knew what he was doing, and she couldn't do anything to stop it. I snapped once I realized I was pregnant, and it wasn't long after that I killed mom in that car accident. I was so out of my mind I thought she would be better off dead because she would be away from Clyde and, I didn't want our brother or sister to have to go through the hell that we were living in. Part of me wanted to die right along with her, but I didn't want to leave you alone with him either."
"What happened to your baby?"
"The accident caused a miscarriage, which was a blessing."
"I'm so sorry he did that to you, Jordan. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Ben you were just a kid. Hell, I was a kid myself. What could you have done?"
"Nothing, I wouldn't have been able to do anything. You're right. I wish like hell I could have though."
"I know. Enough about this. I'm moving forward and you are going to do the same. Don't let what he did then mess with your life now. You have Ciara and two babies to worry about."
"That's what I'm going to focus on. Which brings me to the other reason that I wanted to talk to you. I want to propose to Ciara. I've been in love with her from the moment I laid eyes on her. I've been saving but I don't have enough money yet to get her what I want."
"That's wonderful Ben, but how do you want me to help?"
"When I had my mental break, you ended up having to deal with all of the aftermath on the outside. You told me that Abigail gave you mom's ring. I want to sell mom's ring and use the money toward a new ring for Ciara."
"Oh, thank goodness, you had me thinking that you were going to give Ciara mom's ring for a minute, not the best symbol of love to be starting your life with Ciara."
"My thoughts exactly. Where did you put the ring?"
"It's in a safety deposit box at Salem State Bank."
I'm thrilled to hear the ring is in the area and I won't have to go out to California to get it since that is where Jordan was last located. "Where do you have the key?"
"It should still be in my purse, which the hospital here took once I was admitted. I'll ask one of the staff members if they will go and get the key for you."
She gets up from the table and goes to the desk I checked in at. She talks to the nurse at the desk, who then proceeds to pick up the phone and begins talking to someone on the line. Jordan then walks back over to the table and sits down again.
"I explained that you need access to my safety deposit box to get something that is yours and need the key. They are going to have someone on staff get the key and bring it here."
"Awesome, thanks Jordan."
"Sure, I'm glad I could actually help you with something. I feel really bad about everything that has happened."
"It's like I said before Jordi, you were sick, just like I was. It took some time to process through it, but I love you and I forgive you. Ciara was happy to hear that I was going to go and visit you today."
"She was?"
"Yeah, she was. She knows how close we have always been. She's able to see past the mistakes I've made and has given me the chance to move on with my life and to be happy. For the first time in my life, I'm looking forward to the future that I'm going to have with Ciara and soon our babies."
"So, do you think she will be able to forgive me for what I put her through?"
"I don't know for sure, but I think she already has."
"I wasn't expecting you to say that."
"She's got a big heart. She's so kind and loving and she wants the best for everyone."
"I can tell that you really love her. I'm happy for you Ben."
"Thanks, Sis."
It's at this time that the nurse comes over with a ring of keys. "We found the ring of keys in your purse. Which key is it?" The nurse displays three different keys to Jordan before she confirms which key I need.
"It's that one," Jordan says.
"Okay, Mr. Weston. When you are ready to leave you can stop at the desk here and pick up the key."
"Thank you."
The nurse walks away and lets Jordan and I finish our visit.
"Ben, I'm really glad you came today. I didn't think that you would ever want to see me again."
"I'm glad I got to see you. I'm happy that you seem to be doing well."
"I was actually kinda getting down, because I miss David and I miss you, but your visit has given me the boost that I need to keep going with my treatment so that I can keep getting better and eventually, get out of here."
"Good, keep working hard and listening to the doctors. Okay?" I stand up and she does the same.
"Okay," she says and throws her arms around me.
"I love you, Sis. Don't forget that," I say and kiss the crown of her head.
"I love you too, Ben. Go home and take care of Ciara. If the two of you are having twins, I'm sure she is exhausted all of the time. I was tired with just David, so I can only imagine what two is doing." I don't have the heart to tell her everything else that is going on. She seems to be in such a solid-state of mind right now, I don't want her to have a setback with her worrying about all the excess garbage going on in my life.
I release her from our hug, and step back from her holding her at arms-length, "You look good Jordan; healthy, keep it going."
"Are you going to come and see me again?"
"You want me to?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, how about in a couple weeks."
"I'll look forward to it."
"Me too, Jordi, bye."
One of the nurses walks Jordan back to her room and I go to pick up the key I need from the desk. I breathe deeply a sigh of relief. This visit went much better than I could have hoped for. My sister was not only happy to see me but gave me permission to see David and was able to give me what I need to be able to get my mom's ring. It's almost too good to be true because nothing has ever come to me this easy in my life.
I walk the maze that is Bayview to go and pick up my belongings from the locker I stored them in and then head out the door. I can feel the sun hitting my skin and it feels good. I get into the car and when I get back into town, I stop at the Salem State Bank to get the ring out of the safety deposit box. I half expect it not to be there, but it is. I take the ring and put it in my pocket and head back over to the DiMera mansion. I have security feeds to check for Stefan and then I need to check up on what has been going on at the loft as well. By the time I finish that it will be time for lunch and then I will need to begin interviewing candidates for the open security position.
I open the door to the main house intent on making my way to the security office.
"Ben, where the hell were you?"
