Author's notes: If I've said it before, I'll say it again: Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read and/or review my stories. I'd especially like to thank everyone from the different countries who read my stuff, too. I had no idea that I was international. I am very, very grateful. Here's the usual disclaimer: LO:CI and its characters belong to Dick Wolf and company; I'm just using them in my imagination for a little bit. Any and all mistakes made are my own. Read, review and enjoy. :o)
Tuesday, September 6, 1977
Home of Bill and Susannah Lewis
Bedtime
"Come in," Lewis said at the sound of the knock at his bedroom door. The door opened and in walked Bill, carrying a medium sized suitcase. Bobby was sitting on the twin bed nearest the window, his back against the wall. Lewis was sitting at one of the desks, writing in a notebook. "You going somewhere, Dad?" he asked. Bill chuckled, shaking his head. "No, son, I'm not going anywhere," he answered. "This is Bobby's." He placed the suitcase on the bed next to him.
"Doreen dropped this off for you, Bobby," Bill said as he sat down in a chair. "How come she didn't come in and give it to me herself?" Bobby asked. He stood up and began unpacking. Bill sighed. "She wanted to get back to the hospital as quickly as possible. Apparently, this afternoon's events upset Frances so much that she had to be put into…restraints." Bobby stopped unpacking and stared at Bill, a look of fear in his eyes.
"Doreen wanted to talk to the doctors to see if she could convince them to take the restraints off," Bill continued saying. Bobby looked down at the ground, twisting the folded t-shirt he had been holding. He just stood there, feeling numb for the moment. "Restraints," he thought. "That means she'll have to stay in the hospital longer." Bobby opened and closed his mouth a few times before he spoke. "M-m-maybe I sh-sh-should go and stay with her," he said quietly.
Bill stood up and grasped Bobby by the shoulders, giving them a reassuring squeeze. "No, you don't," he said. Bobby's head shot up. He opened his mouth to protest, but Bill grasped his shoulders more firmly and shook his head. "Doreen doesn't want you missing a whole lot of school. She wants you to come by and visit, but she doesn't want you falling behind like you did in your freshman year."
"But I went to summer school!" Bobby said. "I passed all of my classes and went to the 10th grade. If I have to do that again, I will. It's no big deal!" Bill shook his head again. "Doreen, Susie and I don't want this to interfere with your education," he said. "We all know you can take care of yourself, but we don't want you to have to handle this burden on your own." "I'm already handling it by myself if my brother and father won't lift a hand to help," Bobby thought to himself.
"You okay?" Bill asked. Bobby sighed heavily, slowly nodding his head. "Yeah, I guess," he replied. Bill squeezed his shoulders again. "Don't you worry about anything. We'll help you get through this," he said. He sat down while Bobby continued unpacking. Lewis went back to writing. "What are you working on, son?" Bill asked. "English homework," Lewis said.
Bill nodded his head and said, "I see." He watched Bobby, who had a quiet determined look on his face. Bill sighed heavily inward and shook his head. "I'd know that look anywhere. That's the 'I don't need anybody' look." He cleared his throat and said, "If you guys aren't too busy this Saturday, I could really use some help down at the shop." Bobby and Lewis looked at each other, the prospect of earning extra money crossing both of their minds.
"What kind of help, Dad?" Lewis asked warily. Bill chuckled at his son's suspicious nature. "I'm running an oil change special for this weekend only. I sure could use some extra hands," he replied. "How much?" Bobby asked. Bill stroked his chin a few seconds before saying, "I'm willing to pay you both 30 dollars a piece." He reached into the front pocket of his shirt and pulled out 10 tickets. "And tickets to the car show on Sunday," he said.
Lewis' and Bobby's faces lit up. "Dad, how did you score tickets?!" Lewis asked in awe. Bobby nodded in agreement. "We've been trying to get them for a month," he said. He and Lewis eagerly descended upon Bill like little kids who had been waiting for Santa Claus. He laughed as he pocketed the tickets again, standing up and shaking his index finger. "Oh, no. You'll get these on Saturday. Mr. Evans, the guy who's putting together the car show gave them to me," he replied to Lewis' question.
"You, finish your homework," Bill said, pointing at Lewis. He pointed at Bobby and said, "You, finish unpacking." Both teenage boys groaned. "Then I want both of you in bed in 20 minutes. It's getting late." As Bill was heading towards the door, he turned around and said, "Oh, by the way. Tell Mattie and Tricia that I need a clean up crew and that I'm willing to pay. Goodnight, fellas." Bobby and Lewis both said goodnight in unison as Bill left.
Bobby and Lewis were both in bed, lights out, within 5 minutes of Bill's leaving. "What period do you have Miss Wells?" Bobby asked. "Second period," Lewis replied. "Who's your Juliet partner?" Lewis sighed dreamily. "The lovely DeLane Palmer," he said. Bobby could practically see in his mind's eye the silly grin that was probably pasted on Lewis' face. "What'd you do to get to be her partner?" he asked.
Lewis lay there in the dark, cackling kind of evilly. "I'll never tell," he said. Bobby rolled his eyes, saying, "Whatever." That made Lewis laugh harder. "Who's your Juliet?" he asked. "CeCe Harper." Lewis sat straight up in the bed, turning on his bedside lamp. "The new kid?" he asked. Bobby raised himself up on his elbows and nodded. Lewis let out a low whistle. He asked, "Isn't Jessica Newman in your class?" "Yeah, she is. So?" "You do realize she's going to make your life miserable until you're her partner, right?"
Bobby frowned. "What are you talking about?" he asked. Lewis sighed heavily as he smacked his forehead. "You do know that Jess has a major crush on you, right?" Bobby nodded and said, "Yeah." "Then you know she's going to bug the hell outta you until you decide to be her partner." Bobby shook his head. "Jessica can bug me all she wants. I don't want to be partners with her. She knows I don't want to be her boyfriend."
Lewis sighed as he turned off the lamp and laid back down. "Don't say I didn't warn ya when she gets on your nerves," he said. "Good night, Bobby." "Night, Lewis." Bobby laid down, turning on his side. He couldn't seem to turn his mind off as he stared at the wall. "What if Mom's too far gone this time?" he thought. "Maybe this time she won't get to come home. Why isn't my family normal like regular families? God, I can't stand this shit!" After about an hour had passed, sleep finally overtook his overactive mind.
Wednesday, September 7, 1977
Hudson-Brooklyn High School
45 minutes before school starts
CeCe covered her mouth as she let out a yawn. She opened her locker and took out her books for her 1st and 2nd period classes, putting them into her satchel. She didn't sleep too well the night before. She actually got up a few minutes before her mother did and got ready for school. Rosalie had changed her bandages and had offered to make her breakfast, but CeCe told her no, that she'd eat breakfast at school.
A small sigh escaped from CeCe's lips as she looked down at her arms. Bruises were starting to show from where Derek had grabbed her. "Great. Just great. It's bad enough people are looking at me funny because I'm the great Derek Harper's unknown freak of a sister. Now, everybody will be staring at me as the freak with the bruises." CeCe closed the locker door and headed down the hall towards the cafeteria, lost in her own thoughts. "I just want to get through this day without any trouble from Derek or a whole lot of questions."
CeCe was surprised at how many kids were actually in the building as she walked along. Some of them smiled at her; some of them smiled, but then frowned when they saw the bandages. CeCe smiled at everyone she passed, but she fiddled with the satchel strap and looked down at the ground when she saw the frowns. "Please let me make it through this day," she thought.
CeCe had been so immersed in her thoughts that it took a minute for her brain to register that someone was calling her name. She turned around and saw Bobby coming down the hall, waving at her. Her eyes widen in surprise as her heart started beating quickly. "Oh my gosh! Bobby's coming this way!" CeCe tugged at her short sleeves, trying to cover up her bandages. "Hey, CeCe," Bobby said as he approached her.
CeCe smiled shyly at him and said, "Hey, Bobby." "What are you doing here so early?" Bobby asked as they started walking down the hall. "I didn't get much sleep last night," she replied. He nodded and said, "Same here." CeCe pointed at the band-aid on Bobby's cheek. "Did you cut yourself shaving?" He snorted and said, "Not even close." A confused look crossed CeCe's face at Bobby's mysterious comment. She wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but she decided she shouldn't be nosy.
When Bobby and CeCe got to the door of the cafeteria line, she stopped so that he could walk through first. But Bobby smiled, pointed at the door and said, "Ladies first." CeCe smiled, glancing downward briefly before walking through the door. Bobby quietly sighed, thinking. "God, her dimples are cute!".
As they were going through the line getting their food, Bobby noticed the bandages and bruising on CeCe's arms. "What the hell?" he thought. "Somebody grabbed her." He shook his head a little to clear his thoughts. "I thought my dad was the only one who grabbed me like that." When they reached the cash register, CeCe began to look in her satchel for her money, but Bobby had already given the money to the cashier. "My treat," he said with a smile as CeCe looked at him with surprise. "Thank you," she said softly.
Bobby followed CeCe to the table and sat down across from her. "You like it here so far?" he asked as she took off her satchel and laid it in the chair beside her. CeCe shrugged. "It's okay, I guess," she replied. "It's been a while since I've been the new kid at school. It's strange being back home going to school." "Back home? You've been here before?" CeCe nodded. "When Daddy got out of the Army, we ended up in Syracuse so that he could work for a friend of his great uncle Herman."
Bobby was surprised and intrigued by CeCe's answer. "How long did you live there?" he asked after swallowing his food. "Until I was 10, almost 11. That's when Daddy died. Then I moved to North Carolina," she replied. "How come you moved to North Carolina? Why didn't your mom and Derek go with you?" CeCe pressed her lips together and looked down at her plate. She opened her mouth, but couldn't find the right words to answer Bobby's questions. "How do I tell Bobby that I found Daddy after he had shot himself in the head? That Mama sent me away to get help instead of putting me away in the loony bin like Uncle Herman said to do?" A couple of tears rolled her cheek.
Bobby grew concerned at CeCe's silence. "Aw, dammit! Now you're being a big bully," he thought when he saw her tears. "You made her cry, you idiot!" "I…I…I'm sorry, CeCe," he said. "I didn't…didn't mean to hurt your feelings." CeCe looked at Bobby as she wiped away her tears. "Oh, no! You didn't hurt my feelings," she said. "Are…are you sure?" She nodded. She reached across the table and squeezed his forearm. "You're probably the only person outside of my family that I've said anything about my daddy to," she replied quietly. "I don't talk about him very much."
CeCe suddenly realized that she was touching Bobby, so she quickly withdrew her hand. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. Bobby just smiled. "It's okay," he said. "I shouldn't have asked those questions anyway. My mom says I ask questions like I'm a police officer or something." She lightly laughed. They fell into a slightly awkward, but comfortable silence as they resumed eating their breakfast. After a few minutes had passed, Bobby pointed at his cheek and said, "My dad did this."
"Your daddy…hit you?" CeCe asked. Bobby nodded silently. He could see that she was shocked by what he said. "It's no big deal, though. I've been hit a lot worse than this," he said. "That's terrible," CeCe whispered. Bobby pointed at her arms and asked, "Who hurt you?" She hung her head down as she shook it. "No one. I just got in the way." Bobby's shoulders slumped a little as he stared at her. He had hoped that CeCe would confide in him. He didn't know what it was, but he felt connected to her somehow. That he could talk to her, tell her stuff that not even his best friends would understand.
"Maybe we…we can talk again at lunch?" Bobby asked hopefully. CeCe looked at him and smiled. "I'd like that," she said. The bell rang indicating that first period was about to start in 10 minutes, so they hurriedly finished eating. "Thank you," CeCe said as Bobby handed her the satchel after she had taken both trays to the dishwasher window. "Come on. I'll walk you to class," he said. CeCe just nodded, smiling and blushing. He laughed at her reaction, happy to see her dimples.
"I do not believe this," Jessica said to Wendy. They were leaning against the wall, watching Bobby and CeCe come down the hall together, talking. Jessica's mouth dropped open when she realized that he was escorting CeCe to her class. "No way," Wendy said in awe. "He's walking her to class." Jessica shook her head. "That is so unfair! I've been trying to get Bobby to walk me to my classes since 7th grade. Now this…this broad has been here one day and has him walking HER to her classes."
Wendy clicked her tongue. "That's really unfair," she said. Jessica just huffed and stuck out her lip, but she regained her composure after Bobby told CeCe bye and walked towards them. "Hey Wendy. Hey, Jess," he said as he started to pass them. "Hey, Bobby," Jessica said. She put her arm through the crook of his arm. He stopped and looked down at her. "You wanna walk me to class?" she asked. Bobby politely removed her arm and shook his head. "Sorry, Jess. I don't have time. I gotta get to Biology. I'll see ya in 5th period."
Bobby walked away before Jessica say anything. She huffed and poked out her lip again. "What are you going to do?" Wendy asked. Jessica looked at her and said, "When 5th period rolls around, I'm going to get him to walk me to ALL of my classes AND be my partner for this Romeo and Juliet contest. That's what I'm going to do."
Wednesday, September 7, 1977
Saint Joseph Hospital
Mental Ward, Mid-morning
"Good morning," Rosalie Harper said softly as she entered Frances Goren's room. Doreen smiled at her. She was sitting in a chair next to the bed. Frances raised her head a little. She narrowed her eyes at Rosalie as she put her head back down. She was still in restraints. Doreen patted her hand. "It's okay, Frances," she said soothingly. Frances remained quiet. As Rosalie approached the bed, she noticed the sadness on both of their faces. "Looks like Mrs. Reed hasn't slept in a while," she thought.
Doreen smiled at Rosalie. "Nurse, do you know when Dr. Archer will be here?" Rosalie quickly scanned Frances' chart before answering, "Dr. Archer's suppose to be here sometime this afternoon after he's made his rounds at Bellevue." She wrote something on the chart, then laid it on the table behind her. "He did, however, leave instructions for us to remove Mrs. Goren's restraints," she said with a smile.
Frances and Doreen looked at each other. When Rosalie had undone one of the restraints, Frances turned on her side and grabbed her cousin's hand. Doreen stood up to get out of Rosalie's way. She stroked Frances' hair with her free hand, humming softly as Frances began to quietly cry.
Rosalie unfastened the other restraint, then stood back to watch Doreen and Frances. "Why are they treating me like an animal?" Frances asked. Doreen sat down. She took Frances' other hand, leaning closer. "Ssshh. Don't talk like that," she said calmly. "I'm entitled to my opinion! To freely speak my mind!" Frances said as she sobbed harder. "They have no right to chain me down like I'm some kind of wild animal!"
Doreen let go of Frances' hand to stroke her cheek. In her most soothing voice, she said, "Frances, you have every right to express your thoughts and feelings. Dr. Archer and the nurses just don't want you to hurt yourself in the process. They're just trying to help you get better. That's all." Rosalie was impressed at how Frances responded to Doreen's voice and demeanor. She cleared her throat and said, "I'll leave you two alone for a little while. Then I'll come back and take Mrs. Goren out for some fresh air." Doreen smiled and nodded. "That'll be nice. Thank you, Nurse Harper." Rosalie smiled and left the room.
Wednesday, September 7, 1977
Hudson-Brooklyn High School
Lunchtime
"Grounded?! For a month!?" Veronica exclaimed. Derek sighed heavily as he opened his locker. He tried to put off telling her that he was grounded for as long as he could, but when Veronica mentioned going to a party on Saturday, he had no choice. "You're telling me this after I told Sylvia and Mike that they could ride with us to Jackie's party?!" Derek looked at her. "Why in the hell would you tell them that when the car belongs to me?!"
Veronica folded her arms across her chest and shifted her weight to one side. "Well, I figured since we're getting married after I graduate next school year that HALF of that car belongs to me! I can invite whoever I want to ride with us. Derek scoffed and rolled his eyes. "What did you do to get grounded anyway?" she asked. "Mama found out that I didn't come home Monday night," he replied. "Did your sister rat you out?"
Derek huffed and said, "No, CeCe didn't rat me out. Mama looked in my room and saw that my bed was still made up from Saturday." Veronica slapped him on the arm. "I TOLD you to mess up your bed before you came to my house!" she said. "But you just wouldn't listen to me. 'Mama ain't gonna find out I'm staying away from home for a couple of days.' I can't believe you're grounded for a whole month because of that!" "That and because I put my hands on CeCe," he mumbled as he closed his locker door.
Veronica's mouth dropped open. "You're the reason she's got bruises and bandages on her arms?" she asked in disbelief. "Derek, you better hope Miss Wells or Mrs. Haynes don't find out about it. You'll be in some serious trouble for real." Derek shook his head. "CeCe won't tell nobody." He looked over Veronica's head down the hall and threw up the peace sign. "What's up, Tank?" he said.
Thomas "Tank" Holt, one of the school's linebackers, was walking down the hall with some friends. "It's all about you, baby," he said to Derek. "Hey, Tank," Veronica said. "Hey, Ronnie." Derek took Veronica's hand and started walking down the hall with Tank. "I thought you were gonna introduce me to your sister," Tank said to Derek. "I will, man. I will. I've haven't seen her since last night." Tank laughed, saying, "You ain't seen her? Man, don't y'all live in the same house?" "I thought you were talking to Anna anyway," Veronica said. Tank nodded. "I am. I'm talking to Betty Mitchell, too. I can't be tied down with just one girl. I've got to keep my options open. There is more than enough of the Tank to go around." Derek chuckled. "Well, all I gotta say is once you meet my sister, you will stop spreading the Tank around."
"Mom said she's going to sew bells on your underwear if you keep leaving the house without telling anyone," Lewis said. Bobby laughed as he leaned against the lockers while Lewis opened his locker. "I'm sorry about that, Lewis. I…I just couldn't stay still for too long. This stuff going on with Mom is…is too much for my brain to handle." "Just remember what Dad said last night," Lewis said. "You're not by yourself. You got us."
"I know," Bobby said quietly. His face lit up as he saw CeCe coming down the hall. She gave him a small smile and a wave. "Here she comes," he said. Lewis closed the door and turned around to see who Bobby was talking about. He turned back to his best friend and said, "Ah, young love. How adorable." Bobby thumped him in the arm. "Shut up, Lewis." CeCe stopped in front of them. "Hi," she said shyly to Bobby. "Hey." She turned to Lewis and said, "You're in my 3rd period class. Lewis, right?" He nodded. "Hey, CeCe." Lewis managed to keep a neutral look on his face as he noticed CeCe's bruises. "Damn! Not you, too" he thought.
CeCe looked back and forth between Bobby and Lewis. "Is it okay if I have lunch with you guys?" she asked. Bobby inhaled deeply, scratching his head. "I don't know, CeCe," he said. "What do you think, Lewis?" He shrugged. "I don't know, Bobby. We'll probably have to teach her the secret 3 Stooges handshake before she can eat with us." CeCe smiled as she realized they were teasing her. "Is this the handshake where I poke both of you in the eyes?" she asked.
Bobby and Lewis looked at each other. "She's in," they said in unison. CeCe smiled as she fell in step them as they walked down the hall to the cafeteria. "CeCe, you wanna be partners when we dissect the frogs in Biology class?" Lewis asked. Her eyes widen in surprise. "Yeah, sure," she said. CeCe got quiet and listened to Bobby and Lewis talk about working for Lewis' dad and the car show.
Mattie and Tricia were standing near the cafeteria lunch line door when they both spotted Bobby and Lewis walking with CeCe. Tricia laughed. "Oh my God! The Goren charm has worked its magic," she exclaimed. "Remind me to take their picture before we leave," Mattie said. The girls waved as the group approached them. "Mattie and Tricia, this is CeCe Harper," Bobby said. "CeCe, this Mattie Jensen and Tricia Baker." CeCe smiled at the cousins; they smiled back.
"We'll see you guys at the table," Tricia said as she pushed Mattie towards the lunchroom. "I'm glad you could join us today, CeCe." "Thanks. Me, too," CeCe said. She was about to walk through the lunch line door when Derek yelled her name. She looked at Lewis, then at Bobby and said softly, "You guys go ahead. I'll catch up with you later." She sighed heavily as she moved away from the door to wait for Derek and his friends to come down the hall.
Lewis looked at Bobby. "I'll catch up with you in a minute," Bobby said. "I'm gonna wait with CeCe." Lewis nodded and walked through the door. Bobby went to stand next to CeCe. She looked up at him, giving him a small smile. "You don't have stay," she said. "I know I don't, but I'm going to stay anyway," he said. Derek walked up to them while his group stood back. "Hey, Bean," he said to Bobby. "Hey, Derek." He looked down at his sister and said, "What happened to you this morning? We're suppose to be coming to school together."
CeCe shrugged as she looked down at the ground. "I didn't sleep too well last night," she said. Derek scoffed. "You still mad about last night, ain't you? Damn, CeCe! I done apologized already." She shook her head. "I'm not mad." Bobby narrowed his eyes at Derek. "You jackass! You hurt your own sister!" He balled his hands into fists, but then unclenched them. He didn't want to hurt Derek before he had all of the facts.
Derek and CeCe were both oblivious to the fact that Bobby had tensed up. Derek rolled his eyes at her comment. "Whatever you say, CeCe. Listen, me and these folks are gonna hang out in the gym. Somebody's going to get some pizza. Come on." He turned around and walked towards his friends, but CeCe stayed where she was standing. Derek walked back to her. "I ain't got all day, CeCe. You don't have to hang with Bean and his friends. You got me and my friends," he said.
CeCe looked at Bobby, then at Derek. She realized that she had a choice to make: either try to fit in with Derek and his friends or make new friends on her own starting with Bobby. Rosalie's words echoed in her head. "It's okay if you make new friends." CeCe looked at Derek and said, "Y'all have fun. I'm gonna hang with Bobby." Derek frowned. "You're what?!" "I'm going to have lunch with Bobby," she said.
Derek and Bobby stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. Bobby looked down when CeCe touched his arm. "Let's go," she said as she walked towards the lunch line door. He nodded, following after her. Derek stood there shaking his head. He thought, "Frank Goren can ruin as many girls as he wants to. But I'll be damned if I let Bobby Goren ruin my sister!"