A Fresh Start
Chapter Two Hundred Forty
When Sam and Jeffrey reach the floor where Blake's room is, she looks at him and says. "If you want to wait in the waiting room, I'll only be with her long enough to make a short exam and then we can go home."
"Can I go with you? I want to watch you work." He says.
"Alright, but I'm not going to be doing that much." She says, as they walk down the hall. They nod to the nurses when she passes the nurses station. When they reach Blake's room, she pushes the door open. Holly is sitting by Blake's bed, holding her hand and talking quietly to her. She looks up when the door opens. "Hello Holly." Sam says, as they walk in.
"Hi Sam, Jeffrey. Do you see Blake, Jeffrey's here with his wife? I'll bet you never thought that would happen." Holly says, looking at Blake.
Deep in her mind, Blake turns to look at Jeffrey. She really looks at him and she sees how happy he is as he watches Sam. "No, I didn't think he would ever get married. I believed he was completely in love with Cassie." She replies as she looks at Sam, and is shacked to see that Sam's several months pregnant. She turns back to Jeffrey. "You did that." She says, her tone more surprised than accusatory. "You seemed so insistent that you always wanted to be by yourself."
"I did want to be by myself." Jeffrey says quietly as she turns to him.
"I'm dreaming this right. You're not really here."
"No, I'm not here. I'm with Sam out there. I'm only a figment of your imagination." He says. "You want to tell me why you're insisting on laying here. What happened to the woman that was gutsy enough to post all of Springfield's secrets on a blog while running for mayor?"
"It was vindictive."
"Yes it was. But it was a bit of a coup de tat for politics. So is that why you're staying here, in this coma because you're afraid of facing Springfield's reaction to the blog? Because I can tell you that by now, it's pretty much old news. Everyone has moved on to big and better scandals."
"No, that's not the only reason I'm staying here. I like it here."
"You like lying here in this bed, watching your kids grow up and your mother worry about you and your friends worry about you." He says, watching her.
"Do they really need me? Harley has Gus and Cassie has Josh."
"Actually, Josh went back to Reva."
"Cassie's alone! Really alone?"
"She was for a while. But back to you. Why are you insisting on staying in this coma?"
"I'm not insisting…."
"Blake!" Ross says, walking up to them. "Hello, I'm Ross Marler." He says, holding out his hand to Jeffrey.
"Hello." Jeffrey says, shaking Ross's hand as he looks at Blake.
"He knows, does your wife…that sounds so weird to say about you. Does she know that we… well you know?"
"Yes, Sam knows about us. I told her as soon as she told me that Holly wanted her to take over your care. But you still haven't answered my question." Jeffrey says, looking at her. "Why are you staying here?"
"Why do you care if I stay or come back?"
"Blake…."
"Really, I want to know. Why do you care?"
"Maybe I'm partly to blame for you being here." Jeffrey says quietly. "And maybe I'd like the chance to tell you that I never meant for you to be hurt by my plans for redemption."
"You're not to blame for Blake staying in this coma." Ross says, looking at Jeffrey. "She stays because she doesn't want to leave me." He says, looking at her.
"I'm happy here..."
"No, you're not. We exist here and we don't even do that because this isn't real. You're dreaming this up as you go along."
"I haven't been making this up."
"You have. You're hiding and you have been all along. My time is over Blake, but you have so much more to do."
"What do I have Ross?" She asks, looking at him.
"For one thing you have four children who need their mother." Jeffrey says, interrupting them.
"My mom…."
"She takes care of them. She's not their mother. They've already lost one parent don't you think it's wrong to make them loose another." Ross says.
"You're both ganging up on me." Blake says, turning her back on them.
"You can't run and hide forever." Jeffrey says. "Where is that fiery, fierce lady that beat me, the one that wanted to help Springfield?"
"I never wanted to help Springfield. I wanted to be close to Ross and being mayor allowed me to be where he had been. I won because I was his wife, not because I was the better person for the job. You've proven that since you've taken over." Blake says, turning back around.
"And how would you know that?"
"You're still in office, are you not?"
"I'm in office because the governor became suspicious of Doris Wolfe and her ties to Alan Spaulding and because the interim mayor ran for another office. I got the office by default." Jeffrey says.
"You got the office because you earned it and you were right to have it."
"This is proving nothing and you're not facing the reality of this situation. You have to go back Blake. Our kids need you and you know that. Holly can't take care of them until they are grown and they deserve to have at least one parent with them as they grow up."
"Ross." She says, looking at him again.
"No, I've tried to reason with you, explain to you what you're doing. I've coddled you and tried to guilt you, but you won't listen. It's time you went back." He says, turning away from them.
"Where are you going?" She asks, taking a step closer.
"I'm going on. It's time I faced eternity. I will be waiting for you when it's your time to come, but now is not it." He says, looking back at her. "Go back and take care of our kids and your mom. Holly needs you as much as our kids do." He says, before turning and walking away.
Blake stands there watching him walk away. She takes a step closer and as Jeffrey reaches out to stop her, she knows that's as far as she can go. She turns to him. "You forced this."
"How could I force this? I had no idea the reason you were still here was because of him. But he's right. It's time you came back for your kids. They need their mother."
"I'm not ready to come back." She says, looking at him.
"I think you are, but I've got to go." He says, as he turns away.
Everything turns black as Blake raises her hand to stop him from leaving.
"I think she's doing quite well for the amount of time that she's been here. Most patients after being bed ridden for so many years can develop infections that wear on the body." Sam says, turning to Holly.
"Did Richard do that? Develop infections, I mean?"
"Yes he did. He had a particularly serious one just before he woke up. Not that that will happen with Blake but it's always a possibility" Sam says, after she finishes making notes in her chart.
Blake's natural curiosity is peeked when Richard's name is mentioned. She couldn't figure out why they would be talking about him as though he were alive. Richard was dead, just as Ross was and neither one was coming back."
"I'll come back tomorrow or the next day to check on her." Sam says, turning to Holly. "While I'm glad you're here with her, talking to her. Don't tire yourself out. This might take days, months, even years, if she wakes up at all. You must prepare yourself for that eventuality." Sam says, looking at Holly.
"I'm prepared." Holly says, looking at Blake.
"Okay, as I said, I'll be back either tomorrow or next day." She says, taking Jeffrey's hand.
They turn to go as Blake turns to watch them leave. Releasing her hand, Jeffrey holds the door for her and as the door closes, she sees him put his arm across her shoulders, drawing her to his side. And then silence fills the room and her world and for the first time since the election, she wanted to be awake and living.
Monday morning, Sam is downstairs when Jeffrey comes in from his run. "You're up." He says, walking into the kitchen.
"Yes. Julien will be here in about ten minutes and you have to get to City Hall." She says, handing him a cup of coffee.
"Are you alright?" He asks after taking a sip.
"I'm fine. You need a shower."
"You don't like me all sweaty?" He asks, taking a step closer.
"No, I don't." She says, holding her hand out. "Now go take a shower and I'll have your breakfast ready by the time you're ready."
"Sam, I can get something at Company."
"Go." She says, leaning up to kiss him.
He turns to go and then stops. "Are you going to hospital today?"
"I don't know. It depends on my appointment calendar, why?"
"I was only going to remind you that if you do go, you must take…."
"I have to take Julien with me, I know."
"It's only until…."
"Am I complaining J, I'll take Julien with me and anywhere else I go." She says, looking at him.
"Alright, I'll back off." He says, smiling before he turns to leave."
She starts his breakfast. Ten minutes later, she's putting it on the table when someone knocks on the door. Putting Jeffrey's plate on the table, she walks over to the door as he comes downstairs. "Your breakfast is on the table." She says, going to the door.
"Who's at the door?"
"I don't know. That's why I'm going to check."
"Sam, don't open…." He's quiet when she leans up and checks the peep hole before she opens the door.
"Good morning Julien." She says, stepping back. Julien walks in and she shuts the door. "And I haven't forgotten my training simply because I'm married and pregnant." She says, looking at Jeffrey.
"I know. I'm sorry." He says, as she turns to Julien.
"Have you eaten?"
"I had breakfast at Company before I came over." He replies, as she nods.
"Then I am going to get a shower before you leave for work." She says, looking at Jeffrey.
"I won't leave until you're finished." He says, as she nods and turns for the stairs. Once she's upstairs, Jeffrey sits down at the table as Julien walks over.
"Did anything happen this weekend?" Julien asks as Jeffrey looks up. "I followed you Saturday morning while you were shopping, only in case you needed me." He says, sitting down at the table.
"Then you know that we ran into her brother."
"Yes, although I didn't hear the conversation."
"It wasn't much. They talked about the situation with Arianna's mother, their father and his beliefs. She says it's the same argument they've had for years." Jeffrey says, as he settles in to eat as Julien nods.
"Do you think he's really going to do something to her?"
"I think he feels like he has to do something because of their father and the fact that Sam refuses to be a part of his life. He sees her as a threat. I'm just not sure about what he plans to do."
"Who is the women that walked up after you left the target?"
"That was her sister, Megan. She moved her a few weeks ago after she and her husband divorced."
"If she's their sister, would Jeremiah not come after her as well?"
"I'm not even sure Jeremiah knows that she's here or that she and Patrick divorced. Sam may want to go to the hospital today to check on a patient, you must go with her."
"I will and I will go anywhere else she wants to go. Do you know all the cars on the street outside?"
"I haven't looked outside this morning, why?"
"I just wanted to know if there was anyone out there that you didn't recognize, if he's planning on doing something to her. It stands to reason that he would have someone watching her, to learn her movements as well as yours. When she's alone, when her clinic opens up, when it closes, when you come home."
"I'll look to see if I see any cars that I don't recognize on the street. If there are, then I'll let you know."
"Let him know what?" Sam asks, walking over to them.
"If there are any cars on the street that we don't recognize." Jeffrey says, standing up. "That was a quick shower."
"I decided not to take one. I had a bath last night and you're going to be late."
"I'm fine on time." Jeffrey says, taking his plate into the kitchen. "I'll call you at lunch." He says, walking into the living room where she and Julien are standing.
"I'll be here unless I go to the hospital." She says, leaning up to kiss him. "So if you call here and I don't answer, don't freak out, call my cell phone."
"I learned my lesson about freaking out when I can't get in touch with you. I'll call your cell before I freak out if I don't get you here."
"Thank you." She says, as he pulls his coat on
Reaching for her, he pulls her to him. "I love both of you." He says, as she looks up and smiles.
"We love you." She says, leaning up to kiss him.
"I'll see you tonight." He says, reaching for the door. "Julien." He says, glancing over his shoulder.
"Mr. Mayor." Julien says, as Jeffrey opens the door and walks out. Sam stands in the open doorway until he's in his car and pulling out before she closes the door and turns to Julien. "So, what do you do now?"
"I am going downstairs to work on some notes for patient files and you'll come with me. The girls will be in, in about an hour." Sam says, walking across the hall to the doorway leading down to her office with Julien following her.
Reva walks into Beacon Monday morning. Cassie is already at the front desk when she walks in. "I thought you were supposes to be taking it easy." She says, walking up to her.
Cassie turns to her. "I am. I came in early so that I can finish this so that I can go home and rest before tonight." She says.
"What's tonight?"
"A fund raiser at Towers for Richard's campaign."
"So, I guess you had a busy weekend."
"No, not really. He had an event Saturday evening and that was it. He's insisting that I be kept on the sidelines as much as possible."
"How's that going to work?"
"I don't know. But he's more worried about the stress being too much for me with the baby."
"Of course he's worried about that." Reva says, as Cassie turns away from the desk. She follows her.
"So what did you and Josh do this weekend?"
"Nothing really, we stayed home all weekend."
"How are things going between you two and Jeffrey thing?"
"So much better now that he's accepted that Jeffrey is his brother. You know that Jeffrey took over Lewis Oil?"
"Yes, he was going to give it to Billy, wasn't he?"
"He was and he tried but Billy turned it down. He told Jeffrey to give it to Josh."
"What's going on with Josh's son?" Cassie asks, as they walk into Reva's office.
"Good morning, Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Winslow." Reva's assistant says.
"Good morning." They reply as they walk towards Reva's office. Cassie looks back over her shoulder as they walk into the room.
"When did you change assistants?"
"Olivia's assistant left about a week ago. I'm in the process of looking for another one, so she's a temp." Reva says, as she walks over to her desk and Cassie closes the door before walking over to her desk.
"So what is going on with Josh's son?"
"Nothing else has happened since I asked her to Thanksgiving dinner."
"I still can't believe you did that."
"I offered to be polite. I didn't really want her to come to dinner and she turned me down. Speaking of Thanksgiving, have you talked to Sam about it?"
"No, I haven't. Have you? Do you even know if they're coming over?"
"Ummm, I haven't talked to her, but I know that Josh invited them and Jeffrey said he would have to speak to Sam about it."
"Maybe we need to talk to her."
"I'll call her before I get into last night's reports."
"Maybe we could all have lunch."
"That would be good. I'll suggest it when I talk to her." Reva says, as Cassie stands up.
"Well, I need to get back to work. I've got several things to do to before I have to leave." She says, walking over to the door.
"I'll let you know about lunch."
"Try to make for tomorrow. I don't really have time for today."
"Alright, I'll work it out with her and then let you know."
"Good, we'll talk then."
Cassie leaves as Reva picks up the phone. She dials the number for Sam's office. Sam is finishing up with a patient when Lisa walks up. "Doctor O'Neill, Reva Lewis on line one for you. She said she wanted to talk to you about Thanksgiving."
"Thank you Leah, I'll take it in my office." Sam says, walking down the hall to her office. Julien is standing by the door when she walks by. She nods as she walks by him. Opening the door, she walks into her office and over to her desk. Picking up the phone as she sits down, she pushes the button for line one. "Reva." She says.
"Sam, I'm sorry to interrupt."
"It's okay. I'm between patients. What's up?"
"Cassie and I were just discussing Thanksgiving and we thought it might be a good idea if we all got together for lunch so that we can make plans. Did Jeffrey say anything to you about Thanksgiving?"
"No, he hadn't mentioned it. But I thought it was already decided that we were coming over to your house. I mean I understood that you had invited us. Was I wrong?"
"No, I did. But Josh did as well when he spoke to Jeffrey the other day."
"And what did Jeffrey say?"
"That he wanted to talk to you about it."
"I'm going to say its okay, but I'll check with him. When did you want to have lunch?"
"Cassie needs tomorrow. She's busy today with Richard's campaign and doesn't really have the time."
"Tomorrow's fine. I've got patients right after lunch so I really don't have time today either."
"Tomorrow it is. Do you want to meet us at the Beacon?'
"That's fine."
"Good, we'll see you then."
"See you then." Sam says, hanging up the phone a few moments later.
Billy walks into Ava's office as she looks up. "Hi." She says, moving to get up.
He holds up his hand to stops her. "I only came by to give you the keys to the loft."
"You mean it's finished?" She says, taking the keys he holding out to her.
"The team gave me the keys this morning after the final walk through. If you want anything changed, they can do it for you." He says.
"I'm sorry I haven't…."
He holds his hand up to stop her. "It's okay. I know the Wilson project is taking up most of your time. How is that coming along?"
"Slowly, I'm not complaining, but they keep changing their mind and wanting changes to the design."
"Do you need me to speak to them?"
"No, I can handle it. But the project might take longer than expected."
"Well, here are the keys. The crew is doing a final clean and then the loft is ready for you to move into."
"This is going to be great. Thank you so much for getting it done so quickly."
"You're welcome. How's your Dad?"
"You know I haven't talked to him since Halloween. I have to call him to let him know we're moving in." She says, reaching for a note pad.
'Why don't you call him now?"
"I've got a meeting…."
"I'll take it." Billy says, smiling as he turns to leave as she reaches for the phone.
Jeffrey is in his office when Stace buzzes him. "Yes." He says, answering her.
"Sir, Ava is on line one."
"Thank you Stace." He says, reaching for the phone as he pushes the button. "Ava, is something wrong?" He asks.
"No, everything's fine. Billy just brought me the keys to the loft and I was calling to let you know."
"Oh, I thought maybe something had happened with the baby or you."
"I'm fine and the baby's fine. I didn't mean to startle you. How are you doing?"
"I'm great and Sam is great too. We're settling into the house. When are you moving in?"
"I'm not sure. Billy just brought me the keys. I haven't even told William yet."
"Well go tell him and let me know when you're moving in. I'll come help."
"Dad, we really don't have the much to move in." She says, smiling."
"I can still come help."
"Thanks, but that's not necessary. We only have what we have at the Beacon so it's only going to take us a few hours to move it over."
"Alright. We'll come over once you're settled in."
"That will be fine."
"Have you had lunch?"
"Not yet, I'm going in a few moments." She says before he can scold her.
"Alright, I'll talk to you later."
"I love you."
"I love you too." He says, smiling as they hang up.
William is finishing up a meeting with a client when Ava walks up. "Thank you for coming in, Mr. Stanaway." William says, holding out his hand. They shaking hands and the man leaves as William turns around. Spotting Ava, he smiles as she walks over to him. "Hi, I didn't expect to see you until tonight. Is something wrong, the baby….?"
"The baby is fine. I came to give you your key." She says, holding out his key to the loft.
"My key to what?"
"The loft, it's finished. Billy brought me the key this morning."
'It's finished, really?"
"The crew is doing a final clean and we can move our stuff in tonight, if we want."
"Don't we have to give them notice?"
"No, it's a hotel not an apartment. They'll be fine if we want to move out tonight. If fact I can call them and ask to have one of the maids pack up our things for us, so we'll only have to load it once we get there."
"You don't want to wait till this weekend."
"No, unless you want to. And I think I'm going to need to work a little bit this weekend."
"Because of the Wilson project."
"Yes, now they are thinking about changing the design in the main parts of the house unless I can convince them that it can't be changed because of budget reasons and the fact that we can't return half of the things we've bought for those rooms. We can use them again in other designs, but the budget is stretched almost to the point that they're going to go way over." Ava says, sighing.
He pulls her to him and hugs her. "Don't let them get to you. Everything will work out and if you want to move into the loft tonight, that's fine with me." He says, releasing her and stepping back.
"Thanks, I needed that. I'm headed to lunch. Can you come?"
"And miss spending an hour with you." He says, turning to his assistant. "Eric, I'm going to lunch. I'll be back before my next meeting."
"Yes sir." Eric says, nodding as William slips his arm around Ava and leads her out of his office.
Cassie finished up her work that she needed to finish at the Beacon and then reaching for her cell phone she dials the number she copied out of Richard's phone that morning while he was in the shower. She dials the number and then sits back.
"Langston, Hughes and Murray, how may I help you?" The receptionist asks, answering on the third ring.
"I need to speak with a Julie Bertilla." Cassie says.
"She's out of the office right now for lunch. May I talk a message?"
"When will she be back from lunch?"
"I'm not sure but probably in about an hour. Is there a message?"
"No, thank you." Cassie says, hanging up. She closes her computer down and then reaches for her purse. Getting up, she leaves. Her assistant isn't at her desk, so Cassie leaves a quick note before she walks out of the office. She leaves the Beacon and heads directly to her car before she loses her nerve. Getting in, she pulls out of the parking lot and heads for Oakdale.
Julie has just walked into her office when Cassie pulls up. Getting out, she walk into the building and then up to the receptionist's desk. "May I help you?"
"I'm here to see Julie Bertilla." Cassie says.
"Is she expecting you?"
"No."
"Let me see if she can see you now?"
"Thank you." Cassie says, as the receptionist picks up the phone and dials an extension.
"Yes." Julie says, picking up the line.
"Ma'am, there is a woman here to see you. She doesn't have an appointment."
"What's her name?"
"May I have your name?" The receptionist asks, looking at Cassie.
"Ms. Layne."
"She says her name is Ms. Layne. Will you see her?"
"Yes, I've got time so send her back."
"Yes ma'am." The receptionists says, hanging up the phone. "You may go back. It's the third office on the right?"
"Thank you." Cassie says, walking down the hallway. When she reaches the door, she stops for a moment and takes a deep breath before she opens the door.
"I'll be with you in a moment, Ms. Layne." Julie says, without looking up.
"That's fine." Cassie replies.
Julie stops for a moment before she looks up. "What are you doing here and why did you lie to see me?"
"Would you have seen me if I gave Mrs. Winslow? And I didn't lie, my first husband's name was Layne."
"I've got nothing to say to you. My decision…."
"Is wrong, and you know that don't you." Cassie says, sitting down in front of Julie's desk.
"I didn't offer you a seat."
"I took one." Cassie says, sitting back.
"What do you want?"
"I want to know why you're determined to punish Richard for Matt's death."
"He's the reason Matt is dead. That woman ordered your husband to be killed and the killed Matt instead. But I don't have to explain myself to you."
"No, you don't but maybe you should explain it to your kids. Explain why you kept them from their father's family because you're afraid."
"I'm not afraid!"
"Are you sure about that? You want Richard to suffer because you lost Matt. Richard lost his brother. A brother he never knew about, had no idea existed because he thought that his mother had died shortly after he was born. And he didn't know that until he found a letter written by the woman he thought was his mother, explaining how his father had told her that her son had died and forced her to accept Richard as his heir. Richard and Matt were both a victim of someone else's lies and actions and you want to punish Richard for something he had no control over. It's not fair to him. It's not fair to you and it most definitely is not fair to your kids."
"He gets to live while Matt is dead. That's what's not fair."
"You're right, it's not fair that Matt is dead. You lost the man you wanted to spend the rest of your life with."
"And you get to spend the rest of your life with the man you want. I'm sure you've always gotten what you wanted."
"No, I haven't. But you wouldn't know that because you assume to know everything. You assume that I'm a spoiled little princess. You assume Richard is spoiled little prince. You assume that he knew all along about his mother and brother and now that it's convenient for him, he wants to know about Matt's life and his mother's life. And you refuse to accept the fact that Richard's not responsible for anything that happened to Matt, including the accident and the deal his father made with their mother."
"Then who is responsible, if not your husband. That woman you claim came after Richard to get back at you and mistook my husband for yours? As to any deal that was made between Richard's father and Matt's mother was probably the best thing for Matt."
"You're right about the deal made between Prince George and Richard's mother. But we don't simply claim that Camille was responsible for Matt's accident. She confessed to it?"
"And how did you get her to take the fall?"
"We didn't get her to do anything. She admitted it herself after she was arrested when the man she hired identified her. I didn't come out here to fight with you or try to force you to allow Richard to know his family. I simply wanted to tell you that I think you're being incredibly selfish by denying your kids their uncle and Richard his family."
"He has a family. He has you and he has your children. And this will be one time the prince doesn't get what he demands."
"You're wrong about that." Cassie says, standing up.
"What do you mean I'm wrong about that?"
"This is one time you will not get what you degreed. Richard has met his nieces and nephews."
"There's no way. I never brought them to him."
"No, you haven't." Cassie says, walking over to the door. "I hope you enjoy keeping your kids from the last connection to their father. Personally, there's no way I would ever keep something like that from my kids." She opens the door and walks out with Julie staring after her.
When Richard got home later that afternoon, Cassie was waiting for him as he walks into his office. He puts his briefcase down, as he asks. "Where are the boys? Is something wrong?"
"The boys are doing their homework while we're here to help them, if they need it/ But I do need to tell you something?"
"Is it the baby?"
"No, the baby is fine. I went to see Julie this…."
"You went to see Julie, why would you do that? She's made it clear that she wants nothing….
"She's wrong and I went to tell her that."
"You can't force her to let us have a contact with Matt's kids or herself."
"I didn't try to force her. I simply told her what I thought and that her orders hadn't been obeyed."
"Cassie!"
"I won't apologize for defending you. You deserve to know your brother and his family. And you're not responsible for what happened and as much as she doesn't want to admit it you have the right to know his kids. You are the last connection those kids have to their father. She doesn't have the right to take that away from them, simply because she wants to punish you."
"She's…."
"She's wrong and you're wrong to let her do this." Cassie says, getting up to leave.
He reaches out to stop her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to attack you. I know you went to defend me because you always do that, even when I'm wrong…."
"In this case, you're not wrong. You deserve this and you're not responsible for what happened, just like she's not responsible for what happened. And I know that if you could bring Matt back, you would. We all would." She says, walking over to him and slipping her arms around him.
He hugs her to him and softly kisses the top of her head. "Thank you for defending me." He says, as she tightens her embrace. After a couple of moments, he says. "There's just one thing?"
"What?" She asks, pulling back.
"How did you find her?" She looks down. "Cassie?"
"I looked in your phone this morning while you were in the shower. I wasn't really looking for her number. I was going to call Maggie and see if we could meet but then I ran across her number, so I wrote it down. And after I finished at the Beacon this morning, I called it. I found out when she was going to be back in her office, because she was gone to lunch when I called and then I went over there."
"How did you even see her? She wouldn't have seen you if you used my name."
"I didn't use your name. I used Rob's." She says, as he looks at her. "I'm sorry. I knew she wouldn't see me if I told her…."
"I understand Cassie, there's no need to explain about using Rob's name. So how did she react when she saw you?"
"She was surprised and instantly confrontational and I gave it right back to her." Cassie says, with a smile.
"I'm sure you did, but no blows where thrown." He asks, as she slaps him
"Of course not, I didn't go to physically harm her. I wanted to defend you and tell her what I thought about the situation." She says, as he leans in to kiss her.
"I love you."
"I love you too." She says, pulling back.
"Did Ms. Chitwood agree to watch the boys tonight?"
"Yes."
"Good."
"I need to go fix them something to eat. So that she only has to put them to bed."
"Why don't you order pizza for them? You don't need to cook on top of everything else you've done today."
"I can cook…."
"Yes, you can. But we're going to be out late. You've already had a full day and I would be willing to bet you haven't rested that much today, so here is my idea. Go upstairs and run yourself a hot bath and relax. I'll call Tony's and order pizza for the boys. They can eat that while we're getting ready for tonight and then when Ms. Chitwood gets here we'll leave." He says, releasing her and turning for the door while bringing her with him.
"Alright, the boys can have pizza and I'll got take a hot bath before tonight."
"Good." He says, leading her to the stairs as she laughs. "And when you get upstairs, don't do anything but go take a bath. No cleaning, nothing. Just go relax."
"I never realized how demanding you are." She says, turning to him.
"I'm simply taking care of my girls." He says, leaning into kiss her.
"I love you."
"I love you too." He says, stepping back as she turns for the stairs.
An hour later, they pull up to Towers. One of the bellmen walk up to the car opening the door as Richard turns the car off. "Good evening Sir. Welcome to Towers."
"Thank you." Richard says, slipping him a tip before he walks around the car.
They are walking towards the hotel. "Mr. Winslow." A man says, walking up to them. "How does it feel to be back in politics?"
"I feel very blessed to be alive and I'm looking forward to being the next mayor of Springfield."
"That would be a bit presumptuous would it not? Or do you believe you're entitled to be mayor simply because you were Prince of San Cristobel."
"I presume nothing. The voters will make their decision at the polls. I'm only confident in my abilities to lead Springfield as I lead San Cristobel."
"This is a democracy not a monarchy, Mr. Winslow."
"Maybe you forgot that I was also elected to be President of San Cristobel as well. I know about democracy. San Cristobel has been a democratic government for nearly as long as the US. I leave it in the voter's hands as to whom they elect to be Mayor of Springfield, as any democracy would. Now if you'll excuse us, we have a fund raiser to attend." Richard says, guiding Cassie through the lobby to the elevators. He pushes the button and steps back. Turning his head, he smiles and whispers. "I told you I wasn't going to hide from my time as ruler of San Cristobel." She looks up and smiles.