A Fresh Start
Chapter One Hundred Ninety One
Rolling to her side, Sam slowly wakes up. When she's fully awake she realizes how late it is. Sitting up, she looks around and finds Jeffrey sitting across from her. "Why did you let me sleep so late?"
"You needed the rest." He says, putting his guitar down.
"J, I've got so much I've…." He gets up and walks over to the bed, sitting down beside her. He leans in and kisses her.
"You were sleeping so good when the alarm on your cell phone went off that you didn't hear it and I decided to let you sleep in. So I went downstairs and I told Jasmine and the other woman…."
"Alice."
"Alice, I told them to take the day off and then I came back upstairs. I met with the painters and they are working on the other rooms up here and the study."
"J."
"You were tired. I didn't want to make you get up so I let you sleep."
She looks at him for a moment. "What about the stuff you need to do?"
"Everything I need to do I can do later. I called Stacey and told her that I wouldn't be coming in."
"J…."
"Don't worry about it. Richard is handling the new businesses coming in. The councilmen can handle everything else."
"So, you've been sitting over there playing with your guitar since this morning and watching me sleep?"
"Well, I slept for a while too after I met with the painters and then I got up and I got dressed and I ate some of the pizza. Oh and I met with Billy and they will be starting on the loft later this week."
"So, we'll have construction crews at both places."
"Yes, but it won't be for long because once the painters finish here the flooring guys will come in and will lay the floor down and we can move in as soon as the furniture is delivered." He says, leaning over to kiss her. After a moment she pulls away, pushing the covers back she moves to get out of the bed when he asks. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I've got to go to the bathroom." She goes into the bathroom as he lies down on the bed. He's laying there when she comes back out. She watches him for a moment before she walks over to the bed. Climbing onto the bed, she moves over to him and straddles him as he opens his eyes.
"What are you doing?" He asks as she leans forward and kisses him. When she sits back up. "I'm not complaining but what was that for?"
"Because I love you and for taking care of me, you know when I need to stop and rest and sometimes I forget that I can't do everything."
Leaning up, he catches her mouth with his and then lays back down, wrapping his arms around her, he holds her to him. After several seconds, he releases her. "I love you too." He says, looking up and smiling.
"Now that I'm awake, what are we doing?"
"What do you want to do?" He asks, brushing her hair back from her face.
"We can get dressed and we can go over to that new store on Main Street and we can look at the baby stuff, maybe decide how we're going decorate the nursery."
"We can do that, but if we're going out. We'll need to go by the loft and get some warmer clothes."
"Is it cold out outside?"
"Not really cold, but it's noticeably cooler than it was earlier this week."
"So we'll get dressed and you can drive us over to the loft." Sam says, moving off him.
He leans up to watch her as she gathers up her clothes from the day before. Sitting up, as she tosses her clothes onto the bed. He watches as she gets dressed. Grabbing her purse, she pulls out a mirror and checks her face in the mirror. "Argh, I look terrible. Why didn't you tell me I look like a raccoon?" She says, reaching up to wipe her eyes.
"I happen to like the raccoon look, very cute and loveable." He says, with a smile.
"This is not cute and loveable. I look horrible, enough to scare little kids on Halloween."
"No, you don't. You are beautiful with your rumpled hair and smeared make-up and I would marry you today all over again." He says, leaning over to kiss her.
"You're crazy." She says, pulling away from him. "Let me get cleaned up and I'll be ready to go." She says, getting up. He watches her walk into the bathroom.
Getting up, he walks over to the chair where he had been sitting and he grabs his boots, slipping them on before he walks into the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, Sam smiles at him as he reaches for her brush. They finish getting ready and leave about five minutes later. Jeffrey slips his suite jacket around Sam's shoulder's as they leave the house. She pulls it around herself as they walk towards his car. Opening the door for her, he closes it and then walks around to the driver's side. Getting in, they leave for the loft.
Olivia and James walk down Main Street. After getting everything ready at the Beacon, James convinces her to take time to look around the town before they leave. They are walking across the street to CO2 when Olivia spots Jeffrey and Sam at one of the tables. James follows her gaze and then looks back at her. "We can go to one of the other stores."
"No, I have one more thing to say to both of them. Can you give me a moment, order me a hot chocolate."
"Okay." James walks towards the counter and Olivia slowly walks over Jeffrey and Sam's table.
Jeffrey looks up as she walks up. "Olivia." He says.
"Jeffrey, Sam." She says, stopping beside their table.
"Olivia." Sam says, glancing at Jeffrey.
There are a few moments of silence before Olivia says. "I wanted to tell you that I'm leaving today, and I wanted to apologize again, to you
Jeffrey, and to you Sam." Olivia says, looking at her. "I am sorry for what I planned to do, to both of you. And I have one more thing to ask of you." She says, looking at Jeffrey.
"Okay."
"Look after Ava and Emma, take care of them for me."
"I will." Jeffrey says.
"Thank you." Olivia turns to Sam and for a moment neither woman spoke. "You didn't take him away from me, I know that. I knew it all along but I wouldn't accept it. I never had him and as much as I wanted to convince myself that we had a chance, his heart was always with you and that's why we were never more than what we are, Ava's parents. Everything that happened in San Cristobel was as much my fault as his and he didn't deserve to loose his life for a mistake we both made. I'm sorry I tried to hurt both of you."
"Take care of yourself Olivia." Sam says, looking at her.
"Thank you. I'll go, because I'm not supposed to contact him unless it pertains to Ava." Olivia turns to go.
"Olivia." Jeffrey says. She turns back around to them. "Thank you for that."
"You're welcome."
"Don't worry about Ava or Emma. I'll look after both of them. They will be fine."
"I know they will be." She says before turning away.
They watch her walk away and then look at each other. "Well, I didn't expect that." Sam says, reaching for her drink.
"I didn't either. She apologized to me but I didn't expect her to apologize to you." Jeffrey says, as Sam cell phone rings.
Reaching into her jeans pocket, she pulls out her phone and glances at the screen. "Hello." She says, answering the phone on the second ring.
"Sam, its Rick Bauer."
"Hello, Dr. Bauer." Sam says, looking at Jeffrey.
"I was calling because the hospital has reached a decision on your petition to be allowed privileges at Cedars."
"I thought I hear something by letter."
"You will, but I thought I would call you and tell you personally."
"Okay."
"They've decided in your favor. You'll be granted privileges at Cedars, so welcome."
"Thank you." Sam says, smiling. "Is there anything that I need to do?"
"No, we'll add your name as a practicing physician for the hospital. That will allow other doctor's to consult with you and refer patients to you as well as allow anyone inquiring at the hospital for a physician in town we will be able to send them to you."
"Okay, thank you."
"That's all I needed to tell you."
"Thank you." Sam says, hanging up the phone and looking at Jeffrey with a huge smile on her face.
"Who was that?"
"Rick, he called to tell me that Cedars granted my request for privileges at the hospital."
"That's awesome, so what does that mean?"
"I can get referrals from the hospital. The doctor's at Cedars can refer patients to me and I'll be able to send my patients there instead of Oakdale or Chicago if they need to be admitted to the hospital and the doctor's at Cedars can consult with me about a patients care."
"That's great, one more step closer to the clinic being opened."
"Yes, it is. Let's go look at the baby stuff." Sam says, getting up.
Jeffrey gets up. Slipping his hand in hers, they leave CO2, walking down the street.
Ava is in the garden when William comes back to the palace. She looks up as he walks up. "Hi." She says, smiling as he leans over and kisses her.
"Hi, how are you, Emma and the baby?"
"We're fine. Where did you go?"
"I was meeting with Parliament. Lord Everett has accepted the throne and they've set the coronation for the new Prince of San Cristobel for next week."
"What will happen after the coronation?"
"I'll be in Springfield. Once Lord Everett takes the Coronation Oath, the throne is officially transferred to him."
"And you'll come to Springfield."
"Yes. I'll probably leave a few days before the Coronation."
"You're not going to the coronation?"
"No, if I was in Lord Everett's position I wouldn't want the former ruler at my coronation."
"But you were in his position and you let Richard attend your coronation."
"That's because I wasn't committed at the time to being Prince. I only took the throne to keep Camille away from Will."
"So, you're going to come to Springfield."
"Yes, and we're going to start planning our wedding. Speaking of our wedding, do you think we should give your dad a heads up before you show up wearing that ring?"
Ava glances at the ring. "I don't know. He's got a lot on his mind with my mom and the situation with the Lewis's."
"Then maybe you should go back early."
"I thought you wanted me to stay down here longer."
"I would love for you to stay down here, but there is nothing for you to do here now, and Emma is missing school. And you have to get back…."
"Are you trying to get rid of me?"
"No, of course not. I want you here with me, but maybe you should go back to Springfield. I'll be there by next week, probably within a few days, a week at the most."
"Alright, if you want me to go back we will. It's probably good that I'm going back. Billy will be starting the project at the loft soon and I need to be there to help with the planning."
"Good, where's Emma?"
"She's upstairs."
"Did you tell her about Olivia?"
"Yes, she knows that she's staying with us and she guessed about the ring."
"What do you mean she guessed?"
"She noticed ring and asked me about and then guessed that we are getting married."
"How did she take it?"
"Oh, she's excited. We spent the day talking about weddings and she is absolutely convinced that she's going to marry Will."
William shakes his head as he stands up. "Come on, let's go."
"Where are we going?"
"I thought we could go to one of the restaurants in the harbor for dinner and then send Emma back to the palace and we could go to one of the clubs."
"Dinner sounds okay, but instead of going to the club, maybe we could take a walk on the beach, alone, together."
"Umm, a walk on the beach, I didn't think about that." He says, putting his arm around and drawing her to him as they walk back to the palace.
When Olivia and James got back to the Beacon, James goes to his room to pack while Olivia finished in her room. She's just putting the last of her stuff in her suitcase when he knocks and she goes to answer the door. "Are you ready?" He asks, as she lets him in.
She looks around the room while he stands beside her. "It's hard to realize that in a couple hours someone else will be sleeping here tonight. The maid will come in and clean up and this will not be my home anymore."
"You'll have a new home."
"I expect to see Emma coming out of her room, wanting me to help her with her homework or showing me something that she drew. I want to see Ava at the door, asking me for help with something."
"She will do that, but you have to give her time. Come on, let's go." He says, drawing her out of the room. He flips the light off as he pulls the door closed. He helps her with her luggage and ride down together.
As they walk up to the front counter the clerk looks up. "Good evening, Ms. Spencer." She says.
"Good evening Gina. We both need to check out."
"Yes ma'am." She says, bringing up the computer. "I heard that you are leaving the country."
"I am."
"You'll be missed ma'am." Gina says, handing her some papers.
"Thank you." Olivia replies, pulling out her wallet and laying a credit card on the counter while she pulls up James bill.
Printing it out, she hands it to him before she takes Olivia's card and runs it, giving her the receipt to sign while taking James card. She runs James card and then hands him the receipt. He signs it and then hands it back to her. Taking it, she says. "Have a safe trip, Ms. Spencer."
"Thank you Gina."
"You're welcome ma'am." She says, signaling for one of the bellmen to take Olivia and James bags.
Turning away from the front counter Olivia pauses a moment to look around the lobby. "I can't believe I'm not going to be here anymore. There are so many things about this place that I love and I threw them all away."
"You made a mistake."
"No, I threw them away. This hotel was supposed to my refuge, something that belonged to only me. Some many things happened here, the picnic with Alan, Richard and Cassie right after she found out that she owned this place. I was furious at Alan. The arguments after we realized that we were going to have to work together if we wanted this place to be anything but a falling down old building. The mud fight between…."
"Mud fight?"
"Yes, a mud fight, between me and Cassie, right over there and we pulled in Richard and Alan as well. Josh and Reva's wedding. Richard's accident and this became Cassie's refuge after that. And later, Richard's memorial and then the first time Jeffrey walked through those doors. I didn't recognize him because he didn't look like the same man I had known in San Cristobel all those years ago. And the first time Cassie saw him, she passed out right there. He was so gentle with her. It's hard to imagine that I believed that he was the man that raped me at that party. There were so many different things that happened here. This is was what defined me here in Springfield. I was something, someone because I was part owner of the Beacon."
"You were something and someone before the Beacon came along. You defined the Beacon, it did not define you."
"Emma loved living here. She loved to sit in the lobby and watch everyone coming and going. She would make a game of guessing where they were from and why there were staying at the Beacon. This was her palace."
"And you had the palace in San Cristobel."
"For a while, I pretended that I had the palace in San Cristobel. It was never mine because Richard never truly loved me." Olivia says, as the bellman comes up to James.
"Sir, your…."
"Thank you." James says, turning to Olivia. "Are you ready?" She nods looking around the lobby one more time before she turns around. Holding the door for her, they walk out of the hotel. She stops for a moment before she looks at him. "I thought it would be a remarkable way to start your journey."
"To start my journey, back to reality."
"No, that's not what I meant."
"It's okay, I know what you mean, self deprecating humor, one of my specialties, and shall we go."
"You are ready."
"I'm out of time." Olivia says, turning away from him and following the bellman over to the car. The driver opens the door for her and she slips inside, followed by James before the driver closes the door. A few minutes later, the driver's side door opens and the driver gets in. Starting the car, as she turns to James. "Do you want to stop at Cassie's before we go?"
"Would you mind? I didn't really get the chance to tell her good-bye this morning."
"No, that's fine."
"Driver, I need to make one stop before we go to the airport."
"Yes sir."
"We need to stop at the Jessup Farm."
"Yes sir."
"Thank you." James settles back, putting his arm around Olivia as they leave the Beacon.
Cassie is coming downstairs from putting the boy's clothes away when she hears someone pull up outside. She goes into the kitchen to see who it is. "Richard, have you talked to William lately?"
"No, why?" He calls back from the living room.
"Because someone just pulled up in a limo outside." She says, opening the door. She walks out of the house as Richard comes into the kitchen. He follows her out as James opens the door and gets out, followed by Olivia. "Hi." Cassie says, as they walk towards the house.
"We are on our way to the airport but I wanted to stop by and tell you good-bye."
"I thought we did that earlier."
"Earlier, I wanted to tell you about Sarah and…."
"What about Sarah?" Richard asks, interrupting James as he looks at him.
"Do you want to come inside?" Cassie asks.
"We can for a little bit." James says.
Cassie walks into the house, followed by everyone else. She goes into the living room, sitting down on the couch while James and Olivia sit down across from her and Richard stands in the doorway. "What's going on with Sarah?" He asks, again.
"James wanted to tell me that Sarah didn't return to his home or her own when she went back to England and they don't know exactly where she is."
"Do you think she'll try to do something to Cassie?" Richard asks, looking at James.
"No, but we had an argument before she left…."
"About Cassie."
"Yes, she's not happy that I've taken Cassie's side as she sees it."
"So, how do you know that she won't do something to Cassie or our baby?"
"Sarah is many things. She's spoiled and she can be petty but I don't believe that she'll hurt and unborn child or its mother."
"But you don't know for sure." Richard says, watching him.
"I know my daughter pretty well. I don't believe she'll hurt Cassie or the baby."
"Richard, he only wanted me to know what was going on, not because he was concerned for my safety or the baby's safety. Let's not go looking for issues before we need too."
"She tried to humiliate you in front of our guests at our wedding simply because he is trying to develop a relationship with you."
"I know what she did. But I don't think we should worry until we have something to actually worry about."
"Richard, I know you're concerned about Cassie."
"I have reason to be concerned. She's pregnant and this is not a normal pregnancy, any stress…."
"This is stressing me out Richard. He didn't tell me to make us or me worry."
"You weren't going to tell me about this were you?" Richard asks, looking at Cassie.
"It looks like you've got to talk. I only dropped by to say good-bye and extend the invitation for you and the children to come over to England after the baby gets here."
"Thank you." Cassie says, standing up. James stands up and they hug. "I expect you to be here when the baby comes."
"I will definitely be there." He says, as they hug.
"Thank you and…." She looks up, pulling away from him so that she can look him in the eyes. "I love you."
"I love you too." James says, hugging her again. He releases her as Olivia stands up. "I will call you when we land."
"Okay." Cassie steps back as Richard walks over to her slipping his arm around her waist. "Olivia, I hope this works out."
"Thank you Cassie."
"I'll keep you update on the Beacon."
"Thank you." Olivia says, as they walk towards the door.
Richard opens it and James and Olivia walk out. James turns to Cassie. "I want to know about everything."
"I will."
"And be sure to send pictures."
"I will."
"Richard." James says, holding out his hand. "Take care of her and I didn't tell her about Sarah to make more problems for you."
"Thank you for telling us." Richard says, as they shake hands.
Turning, James puts his arm around Olivia and they walk out to the limo. The driver opens the door for them. James helps her into the car and then turns back around. "I love you." He calls.
"I love you too." Cassie calls back, as he gets in the car.
The driver closes the door and James rolls the window down. Putting his arm out the window, he waves as the driver gets in and starts the car, pulling away a few moments later. About fifteen minutes later, they arrive at the airport. James's plane is waiting for them on the tarmac. The driver gets out and walks around the car, opening the door for them. James gets out and then turns to help Olivia out. For a moment she looks at the plane and then James takes her hand and they walk across the tarmac as the ground crew begins to unload their luggage. As James walks on board, the flight attendant is there to meet them. "Welcome aboard, Mr. Richards."
"Thank you."
"We'll be ready to leave as soon as the crew has you and your guest's luggage on board."
"Thank you." James says, leading Olivia back to the cabin. The attendant follows them. "Will you need anything while you wait, Sir?"
"No, thank you." James says, as Olivia sits down in one of the chairs.
"Yes sir, Miss, will you need anything?" The attendant asks, turning to Olivia.
"No, thank you." Olivia replies, as the attendant nods. She leaves as James sits down beside her.
"Are you okay?" He asks.
"You know, I've flown on private planes before. I flew on the palace's private jet with Richard, but somehow this feels different."
"Maybe it's because you feel like you belong here."
"Maybe, do you seriously think that Sarah won't cause trouble for Richard and Cassie?"
"Sarah's upset with me. And she resents Cassie, but I don't believe that she would purposely hurt Cassie or her baby."
"So, you think they have nothing to worry about."
"Yes, for now."
"That's good, they've just got everything back together and they deserve some peace before the next storm hits them."
"I think Sarah will be more interested in making me pay than hurting Richard, Cassie or the baby." James says, as the Captain comes over the intercom.
"Mr. Richards, we are cleared for take off, so if you can get buckled in, we'll start taxing."
"Thank you Ron." James says, holding down the button for the intercom while Olivia buckles up, along with James. Less than five minutes later, they are in the air as Olivia looks out the window watching Springfield get smaller and smaller. Once it's out of sight, she looks at James. "Everything is going to okay." He says, as she lays her head on his shoulder.