A/N: Here's the next chapter! I hope you're enjoying this story, and will stick it out for the long haul. Please read and review!
Chapter 6: Crossroads; Mother Knows Best
Donna's ears were buzzing. Did the jury foreman really just say what she thought she said? Not guilty on all counts? She sighed with relief, grinning widely as her cheering section of the courtroom erupted in silent cheers. She hugged Ainsley tightly, muttering, "Thank you. Thank you for everything."
As Donna pulled back from Ainsley, she asked, "So what happens now?"
"Now, you go back to Concord and get processed out." Ainsley explained. "I'll come to pick you up and we'll head back home."
Home. The word had never sounded sweeter to Donna. She was going home to Liberty.
Two hours later, Ainsley and Donna were driving back from Concord and were pulling into town. Ainsley pulled the car up in front of the diner, and Donna took a breath. Would she be able to go inside the diner without automatically being taken back to the night of the attack?
"Donna?" Ainsley asked carefully. "Are you OK?"
Donna nodded quickly, pushing the negative emotions she felt out of her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get in there."
Ainsley climbed out first and held the passenger door open for Donna, who pulled out the few belongings she had on her when she was arrested and remanded to the State Prison. When Ainsley pushed open the door to the diner, Donna could see that nearly the entire town had gathered in her honor.
When Ellie caught sight of her, she called out, "Hey, everybody, Donna's back!"
At this, the entire town burst into applause and calls of "Welcome home!" She was embraced by everyone from Ellie to Abbey to CJ. Eventually, she came face to face with her parents. Donna was understandably nervous: this would be the first time she was in the same room with both of her parents since she left Madison so abruptly.
After initial hesitation on all their parts, Donna's father Daniel broke the ice by pulling her in for a hug. They were immediately joined by her mother Roberta. Donna was vaguely aware of Roberta muttering, "My baby, my baby."
They pulled apart, and Donna said, "Are you angry? About the way I left?"
"No, no! Absolutely not!" Daniel said, cupping her cheek lovingly. "My only anger is directed at the monster who hurt you for so many years, and at me for not realizing what was happening." The three embraced again, parents and child having reunited at last. But there was one reunion that had yet to take place, and CJ wanted to make sure it happened before anything else.
Having picked up Abbie Jean from the inn, where Mrs. Landingham had been babysitting for her, CJ took her from the older woman and tapped Donna on the shoulder. When Donna realized who CJ was holding, her eyes went wide and teary. She gingerly took the now four-month-old from CJ and cradled her close. Everyone stepped back, allowing Donna to reunite with her child in peace.
Meanwhile, Ellie went across the street, where she knew Dr. Griffith was still working in the clinic. Since she didn't really know Donna, she had offered to run the clinic on the day of the trial. Ellie entered the main door of the clinic and knocked on the door to the exam room/office.
"Dr. Griffith?"
Millie Griffith looked up. "Oh, hi, Ellie! What can I do for you?"
"Well, I need...advice. Medical advice."
Millie chuckled. "Well, you know that's one of my specialties. What's going on?"
Ellie took a breath, her face deadly serious. If she didn't get this out, she might lose her nerve. "I need a pregnancy test."
…
A few hours later, Donna's welcome-home party had begun to wind down, and pretty soon CJ, Abbie Jean, and Donna were the only ones left in the small space. Donna got up from where she had finished feeding the baby and began to help pack up the food.
"Hey, hey." CJ said, gently chiding her. "You don't have to help clean up."
"Don't I still work here?" Donna quietly deadpanned as she continued to clean the dishes. "Wasn't this part of my job description last time I checked?"
"No, of course you still have a job here." CJ reassured her. "As long as I have a job, you have a job. You know that. I just thought, maybe you would want to spend some time with Abbie Jean, and with your parents, while they're still here. Give yourself a chance to get used to being home. You just spent three months in state prison. It's gonna take some time to adjust."
Turning the water off, Donna turned to face CJ. "I get what you're saying, I do. And I appreciate the sentiment, but what will help me right now is to just get back to my life."
CJ nodded, showing that she comprehended what Donna was saying, but her eyes betrayed her worry. "Okay. Whatever you need to do."
Donna dried her hands on a towel. "I'm pretty exhausted. Abbie Jean's almost asleep, so I think I'm gonna give her a bath and then get some shuteye myself."
"Okay." CJ replied. "Good night."
"Good night." Donna answered back as she carried her daughter upstairs, bouncing her gently and quietly shushing her as she whimpered from being woken up. Abbie Jean seemed just as exhausted as Donna did. Twenty minutes later, Donna lifted her out of the bath, buttoned her into fresh pajamas, and laid the sleeping infant in the crib before climbing into bed.
She was exhausted, but unbeknownst to anyone, she was too afraid to close her eyes. Nearly every night, memories of the attack that took her ex-boyfriend's life haunted her. Being just above the space where it happened didn't help anything.
Suddenly, Donna recalled a conversation she had had with her parents earlier in the day. They had been talking, and her mother Roberta had suggested she consider moving back home to Madison. Even though she continued to believe that Liberty was her home, where her daughter was meant to be raised, her mind kept telling her that there was something to be said for escaping the bad memories. She just wasn't ready to admit to anybody-or to herself-that maybe her mother was right.
…
Charlie was sitting on the stoop at the Bartlets' house, filled with anxiety on what the results of Ellie's pregnancy test could mean for them-and more importantly, for him.
He didn't think the Bartlets would kick him out, not for getting Ellie pregnant. Or would they? Ellie was practically the town daughter. But the truth was, Charlie was happier with the Bartlets than he had been in any other foster family. Unlike the others, they allowed him regular contact with his sister Deanna, and he had begun to excel at school, no longer acting out as he had in previous foster homes. Whether it was what Ms. Fiderer said about this being his last chance, or how warm and nurturing the Bartlets were as foster parents, Charlie had a good life here, and he wasn't ready to lose it.
His head whipped up as he heard his name. He saw Ellie crossing into the Bartlets' yard, an expression on her face that Charlie couldn't read. Was it fear? Relief?
He crossed the yard to meet her in the middle. "Well?" He asked quietly.
She looked up, meeting his eyes. "It was negative. False alarm."
Charlie sighed in relief and enveloped her in a hug. "And your dad...he still doesn't know about it?"
"No." Ellie said. "No reason to worry him when it was negative."
Charlie laughed dryly. "We have got to start using better protection."
"Charlie?" Ellie asked. "I think we need to talk."
"Uh-oh, that doesn't sound good." Charlie said, pulling apart from Ellie to look her in the eye.
"I-I think maybe this is a sign we're moving too fast."
Charlie looked blank. Then it began to hit him. "Are you saying we should break up?"
"No, not necessarily. But...maybe we should take a break. Slow things down a notch."
"Okay." Charlie replied. He knew Ellie was right. But Ellie felt like she needed to explain herself further.
"Charlie, today...I've never been more scared in my entire life. You're the first guy I was ever with...that way. And I'm not ready for how serious this relationship seems to be getting." She smiled softly. "Do you get that?"
Charlie nodded slowly. "Yeah. I do." He sighed. "So, maybe we could just be friends for a while."
Ellie smiled even wider. "I'd like that." She kissed him quickly and ran back over to her house, leaving Charlie bewildered over what had just happened.
…
CJ was sound asleep in the loft when she suddenly woke up. She wasn't sure why at first, until she heard muffled screams coming from somewhere in the apartment. She bolted out of bed and ran to Donna's bedroom, where Abbie Jean was now wailing, her mother's nightmare having startled her awake. Just as CJ reached Donna's room and flipped on the light, Donna shot up in a cold sweat, tears falling down her face at the nightmare she had had.
"Hey." CJ said softly, sitting down on Donna's twin-sized mattress and pulling her into a hug in one swift motion. "It was just a dream, it's over."
"Except it wasn't a dream." Donna choked out. "It really happened." Suddenly, she began to register that Abbie Jean was crying, and in an instant, she had flipped a switch from trauma survivor to comforting mother.
"Shh...it's okay, baby girl. Mama's got you." Donna murmured, holding her close as she sat down and rocked her gently. Focusing on comforting her daughter allowed her to take the focus off of the trauma of the nightmare.
Once Abbie Jean had drifted back to sleep, and CJ had gotten some water for Donna, CJ began to approach the subject of the nightmare. But Donna was already one step ahead of her.
"It was like I was right back there." She whispered. "I want things to just be able to get back to normal, but...but they're not."
CJ didn't quite know how to respond to that. She reached across the mattress and squeezed Donna's hand. "I know you're probably having all kinds of flashbacks. But I also know you. I know you're strong, and I know that if anyone can get through this, it's gonna be you."
Donna nodded. "I can get through this?"
"You can get through this." CJ affirmed, pulling her in close as Abbie Jean slept in between them.
Donna placed Abbie Jean next to her on the bed and leaned against her, smiling quietly. Suddenly, she had reached a decision. She wasn't going back to Madison. Running away from her problems wasn't the answer. And besides, why would she move back to Madison when her home and family were all right here in New Hampshire?
…
The next several months passed in a comfortable sameness throughout Liberty. Ellie finished her sophomore year at Central Academy and started her junior year, while Charlie continued to attend Hanover High School. As far as their relationship went, however, they had broken it off mutually after Ellie's pregnancy scare and were comfortable with the idea of remaining friends.
CJ had also hit a similar impasse with Danny Concannon. While they had gone on a few dates, and appeared to like one another, and also in spite of the fact that Gail the goldfish was still sitting in CJ's apartment, they had grown apart. Their busy schedules simply did not allow them time to develop their relationship the way they both wanted to.
After Donna was released following her exoneration, she had some nightmares, but they eventually resolved. After going fifteen rounds with her parents on whether or not she should move back to Madison, she finally won out, promising to visit her parents every now and then, and to call them once a week to let them know how she was doing. She focused on raising Abbie Jean, who was growing up to be a happy, healthy baby, and began to heal from what had happened.
Life went on in LIberty, but little did they know that a person was about to arrive in Liberty who would flip two residents' lives upside down.
It was a normal day at the inn. Josh was working in his office, when Margaret came back. Josh looked up, surprised; Margaret almost never came back into his office, preferring to man the desk. "Josh, there's someone here to see you."
"Take a message, Margaret." Josh said distractedly.
"Trust me, Josh, I think you'll want to take this."
Josh looked up. "Who is it?"
"She just said to tell you she was an old friend."
Josh stood up, and followed Margaret out to the lobby, where he stopped in his tracks. Amy Gardner was standing in the lobby, checking her BlackBerry.
Josh took a breath. The last time he had seen Amy Gardner, his daughter had been twelve years old. After Amy left when she was six months old, she had been in infrequent contact with Ellie, often showing up at the most inopportune times.
She had shown up at the clear blue four years earlier, wanting to connect with her daughter. Sensing an opportunity to finally have a relationship with the mother she had never really known, Ellie readily accepted Amy wholeheartedly into her life, showing her around town and introducing her to her life. But then, after a month, Amy just disappeared. She left a note saying that she had tried, but that this life wasn't what she wanted for herself: things were moving too fast. Ellie had cried herself to sleep for weeks.
Now, here she was standing in front of him, and all Josh wanted to know was why.
Just then, Amy looked up from her BlackBerry. "Oh, hi, J."
Josh had always internally hated that nickname. But he put on a game face, though he couldn't hide his surprise. "Amy. It's-It's been a while."
At this, Amy laughed a little. "Yeah, it has. Four years, in fact."
"Forgive my tact, but what are you doing here?" Josh asked.
"I missed you." She admitted. "And I missed Ellie." She looked around hopefully. "Is Ellie here?"
"No, she's at school." Josh replied. "And all due respect, Amy, but I don't think it's a good idea if you see her." Sam and Margaret came out of their offices, watching the scene with interest.
Amy looked indignant. "She's my daughter!"
"The daughter that you all but gave up for adoption! The daughter you haven't seen since she was twelve! The daughter who you skipped out on!" He paused to rein in his anger. Seeing that he had an audience, he took Amy's arm and led her into his office.
"Look, Amy. The last time you came here, you got her hopes up that she might finally be able to have a relationship with you. And what did you do?"
"I left you a note." Amy said defensively. "I told you why."
"A note." Josh said in laughing disbelief. "She cried herself to sleep for weeks, did you know that? Weeks!"
"Look, Josh." Amy said. She knew that her chances of seeing her child were slim, but she had to try. "I'm moving to Hanover. That means I'll only be twenty minutes away. I want to have a relationship with her. She's sixteen, she needs a mother."
"She needed a mother four years ago!" Josh snapped. "You devastated her, you made her feel like she wasn't worthy of you." He turned away. "Never again."
"J-"
"Never again, Amy!" He sighed. "I'm not going to allow you to break her heart again."
"Fine." Amy said. She knew she had been defeated this round. "Can I at least have a room? I'm house-hunting in Hanover for the week."
Josh nodded slowly-he was nothing if not a good hotel manager, especially when it came to putting his professional life above his personal life. "I'll get you set up. Will you be paying by credit card?" He pushed forward, not wanting to get dragged into bad memories that were better off left alone."
…
Sam paced outside Ainsley's office later that morning, waiting for her to come outside for their lunch date. He was a little worried about how it would go. They were still dating steadily, but like CJ and Danny, they had hit an impasse in their relationship. Someone needed to make the next move.
He was interrupted in his thoughts by the sight of Toby walking alone in the town square. The fact was, he hadn't talked to Toby in a while, and he looked pretty down. "Toby!" he called out.
Toby looked up. "I don't really wanna talk, Sam." He continued walking.
Sam caught up with him. "Well, I just wanted to catch up." Suddenly, he remembered somebody else in Toby's life. "How's your wife? How's...is it Amy?"
"Andy." Toby quietly corrected. "Andrea."
"Andy, right." Sam repeated. He had vague memories of the woman-red hair, a quick wit, political aspirations. In fact, she spent much of her time in Concord, serving in the New Hampshire State House of Representatives. He had heard from CJ, who knew Andy from college, that she was considering a run for the US House of Representatives. "How is she?"
"She's good. She's fine. We're, uh, getting divorced." Toby said quickly, the last part falling off his lips before he began to walk away.
Suddenly, the enormity of what Toby said began to hit Sam. He caught up to Toby. "Wait, what do you mean, divorced?"
"We're ending our marriage."
"But, why? Every time I've seen you two, you've always seemed so happy." Well, that wasn't all true, Sam admitted to himself.
"She's never home. When she is home, we fight about everything. Work, responsibilities, having a baby. She wants a kid, and I can't give her one. So," Toby finished, "We're splitting up."
"Wow." Sam was stunned. At least some of Toby's dour personality had begun to make sense. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. At least we're finally doing something about it instead of living in silence our whole lives." Toby turned to Sam. "You're dating Ainsley Hayes, right? The lawyer?"
"Yeah." Sam said, smiling. "In fact, we have a date in...five minutes."
"Do yourself a favor." Toby said gruffly. "Don't let her go. Talk to her about what you want out of your relationship. I've seen you two together. You have what Andy and I used to have. Don't let her go, Sam." And then, with a brisk nod, he was gone, walking down the square.
Sam was lost in thought when he felt a hand on his arm. He whirled around and was face to face with Ainsley.
"Sam?" She asked. "Are you all right?"
Sam looked at her face, full of love and concern. And suddenly, he had an epiphany. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman.
"Do you want to move in with me?"
Ainsley blinked in shock. "What?"
"I understand if you're not ready to marry me." He quickly explained. "But I just...I can't let you go. I don't want to be like Toby and Andy, or CJ and Danny, and drift apart because we don't know what we want. Because I know what I want. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
Ainsley stared at him, awestruck by his declaration of love towards her. "You mean that?"
"I do." Sam said, his voice more serious than it had ever been.
"Sam...I don't want to move in with you."
Sam was taken aback. "You don't?" Was she breaking up with him? But just as Sam was spiraling, Ainsley took his hand and said, "But I will marry you."
Sam's eyes widened in shock. "Are you sure?"
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you too, Sam. And I want the rest of my life to start today." And with that, she pressed her lips to Sam's.
Sam immediately returned the kiss and hugged her tightly. This had not been how he expected this conversation to go, but it could not have gone any better.
…
Meanwhile, Ellie was leaving Central Academy and hopping on her bike, when she heard, "Hello, Ellie."
Ellie froze. There was only one person that voice belonged to. She turned around slowly and saw Amy Gardner-otherwise known as her biological mother-standing there with a small, but hopeful, smile.
However, Ellie would give no such greeting to the mother who, in her eyes, had abandoned her time and time again. Her response was cold. "Amy."
"Is that any way to treat your mother?"
Ellie scoffed. "You are not my mother. A real mother would have stayed put in her daughter's life for more than a month."
"Ellie, will you just let me talk for two minutes? If after that, you still don't want anything to do with me, then I understand. But just hear me out."
Ellie parked her bicycle and sat defiantly against the stone gargoyle in front of the school. "Okay. Two minutes."
"I understand why you don't want to give me the time of day, and frankly, I probably don't deserve it. But you should know that I'm moving back to Hanover. And I don't plan on going anywhere any time soon." She sighed.
"Really?" Ellie said. "Where were those roots four years ago when you left me?"
The words hit Amy like a slap in the face. She wasn't wrong. But she had to keep trying. "I wasn't ready four years ago. But I am now."
"Why?"
"Well…" It was time to fess up to the truth. "I met someone. And I think it's going to be serious."
Ellie looked at her in disbelief. "A guy? You're willing to put down roots for some guy, but not for me?"
"]Ellie…" Amy said, reaching out to her. "I want to be back in your life. And I know you have every reason in the world to hate me."
"Yes, I do!" Ellie snapped. "Look, just leave me alone. This conversation's over." Ellie jumped on her bike and rode away.
Amy watched her leave, tempted to call out to her, but resisted. She knew that she and Ellie had a lot of issues to work through before the two of them could have a relationship.
But was it too late?
A/N: And there's the next pair of episodes! Just so you know, unlike Donna's ex-boyfriend, I intend on Amy being a recurring character throughout the rest of the fic. Please let me know what you thought!
