TITLE: The Sting of the Past (part 3 of 5 + epilogue)
AUTHOR: trista groulx aka dustyiger
RATING: T PG-13 same as the show
DISCLAIMER: these characters are not mine, i have lovingly borrowed them, and will make no money from this fic, they belong to their creator, NBC and the actors and actresses who portray them i also do not own the trademark of Starbucks, please don't sue all you'll get is debt!
TIMELINE: after Bobby dies, and Jimmy sues for custody of Joey
SUMMARY: Jimmy gets a call from Kim while trying to patch things up with Brooke telling him she's in trouble. He soon realises his gambling problems have put the woman he loves at risk. Can he find her in time, or will Brooke shoot him first?
AUTHOR's NOTES: thank you to my lovely reviewers i'm glad you like this fic i am considering doing an epilogue if you see it change into a six part fic
Jimmy was in front of the Starbucks. She had told him that whoever had her had taken her five to ten minutes away from her apartment. He knew he was going to need help, but he was terrified she would get hurt worse. He had a feeling he knew who had taken her. Just when he thought he had gotten most of his gambling debts in order an old bookie had come out of the woodwork, and threatened that if he didn't get all the money he owed together that he would make the person he cared for most to pay.
He had assumed that the guy had meant Brooke, which was why he had wanted to try and make things right between the two of them, to keep her safe. He never thought that the old bookie would still think that Kim was his wife. He felt guilty and he had to help her, somehow. He could not live with himself if his son lost his mother because of his stupid mistakes.
As he drove he kept re-playing the call from Kim. He still couldn't get over how scared she had sounded. Someone might have hurt her, and it was all his fault. He wanted to hear his phone ring again, just to know that she was all right.
He drove for another few minutes, then parked the car, and looked around. He hoped that one of the buildings would jump out at him as the one where she might be. But nothing did. One of the buildings looked abandoned and close to being condemned. He wondered if maybe she was in there somewhere.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard his phone chirp at him. That was Kim's ringtone, he answered it quickly. As he answered he could only wish that it would be her voice on the other end, and that whoever had taken her hadn't taken her phone when she had made the first phone call.
"Jimmy I'm really scared," she said, he could tell by her voice that she was crying. "I left Joey with a sitter I said I'd only be gone long enough to get a coffee."
He was so relieved when he heard her voice. "I can call and tell the sitter that something's come up, and to stay the night?"
"Could you, please. I don't want to scare her or Joey for that matter."
"Before you hang up, can you tell if you're in a new or an old building?"
"New. We rode up on an elevator. Jimmy, call the police or something. What if this guy comes back?"
"I will soon Kimmy." He sighed, afraid of doing anything, if it was the guy he thought it was that was doing this he knew he had to be careful. "I just need to narrow it down a little more. I promise I'll find you and get you home to Joey."
"I'm glad he's in bed right now and doesn't even know that I went out. So he doesn't know anything is wrong with me. He's been through too much already."
"I know Kimmy. Hang in there I'll get you. I'll make sure Joey doesn't have to hurt anymore."
He hung up the phone and dialed Kim's home number. It was strange despite the fact he knew Kim was not home, and he didn't know where she was he still half expected to hear her voice on the line when he got an answered. He grumbled when his phone beeped at him indicating that the line was busy. He blamed it on the young teenaged girl sitting on the phone talking to a boyfriend while she watched his son. At least Joey was asleep and might not even know that his mother wasn't home.
Jimmy knew he should call the police to help him find her, but he was terrified that that would get her killed instantly. He also knew that she wasn't in the abandoned building, which would make finding her even harder to do. There were about three buildings that were new enough to have elevators in the area he hoped she was. If he had gotten the direction wrong he knew he wouldn't have a chance at actually finding her.
His phone rang again, this time just his regular ring, but still he answered it by saying, "Kimmy?" Just in case it was her.
"Bzzt. Wrong," came a gruff voice on the other end. "So Doherty, you're aware your lovely wife is missing?"
"What the hell did you to her?"
"She's fine, for now. She won't be if you call the cops though. That includes that new wife you've got no interest in. It's sad that you didn't know I kept my eye on you all that time, and that I knew before you did who you really loved before you did."
"Dammit! My kid needs his mother, you can take my knees for all I care, just don't hurt Kimmy."
"I don't want to hurt you directly, if I did that you wouldn't be able pay me back all the money you lost me. I get bored sometimes, like to find ways to entertain myself."
"You're sick, you know that?"
"I've been told that before. Had you just paid your debts. I told I was reasonable as long as you were, and you weren't reasonable, so you made me do this."
"Dammit, why Kimmy?"
"Because I always liked the two of you together, I like to help people."
"You have a strange way of doing that."
"Well you should have listened to me when I met. I just heard something interesting over my police scanner. The cops have been called to your wife's house."
"What?" Jimmy asked, his heart sinking. "What did you do to Joey?"
"Don't worry, I wouldn't touch the kid. Even I got morals. Apparently there's some woman trying to beat down the door over there."
"Bitch," he growled, knowing exactly who had done that. She had no right to scare his son like that.
"I thought her name was Brooke."
"Just tell me how I can get Kimmy back. I gave you all the money I can. You'll get more when I get it."
"I'll think about it, after you sweat some more." The line then went dead.
If the bookie on the other end of the phone was telling the truth at least he now knew why he had gotten a busy signal at Kim's. The sitter was on the line with 911. He decided he would have to call back a little later to tell her that Kim would be later the she had originally planned.
Part of him wanted to call Brooke and tell her to leave his family alone, but he knew that wouldn't help. He didn't want to make her angrier and get the sitter or Joey hurt in the process so he knew how she could get. He had seen Brooke angry, and it was scary to see. He had really gotten his family into a bind this time and he wasn't sure how he was going to get out of it.
Now both the people he cared about were in trouble and it was his fault. He wanted to go check on Joey but he knew he needed help Kim. He hated that he had to do what the bookie was telling him to, but he had to make sure he got out of this all right.
He decided to try Kim's house again, hoping he would get an answer. He had to tell the sitter something to tell Joey. He knew that if something happened Joey would be up, and wondering where his mother was. He knew that Joey was being clingier with her since everything that had happened with Bobby. Because Joey would call any time he was worried about his mother; asking him to come over and help. He was glad when he heard ringing on the line this time.
"Hello?" a young frazzled female voice said on the other end of the phone.
"Hi, this is Jimmy Joey's dad. I was just giving you a call to tell you that Kim is going to be a little later then she expected. We ran into each other at the Starbucks, and we have some stuff to talk about. I hope that's all right."
"Yeah, I think so, Sir. Um, some lady named Brooke was just here looking for Kim. She was like totally nuts, so I called the police on her. I hope I'm not in trouble."
"You did the right thing. I'm sorry about her, she's a friend of mine. I'll go bail her out in the morning if no one else has. Did she wake Joey?"
"Yeah, and he says he won't go to bed till his mom is home."
"How about you tell him that she's with me, and that I'll keep her safe until I can get her home? I'm sorry this is going to be a later night than Kim had thought. If you need to sleep feel free. The couch pulls out, it's really comfortable, and there are blankets in the closet by Joey's room."
"All right I'll tell him, and I'll stay until she gets home, I promise."
"Thank you. My phone is beeping that I have another call, call me back if you need me. My number is on the fridge."
He hit the button to switch calls, and noticed it was Kim again, this time she was in tears, not trying to hide it this time. What had that bastard done to her in so short a time, he thought to himself. He hated that she was hurting because of him, again.
"Kimmy Joey's fine, the sitter will stay," he assured her.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "Someone just called and told me that the police were at my apartment. Jimmy what's going on?"
"Brooke thought I was going to your place when I left. I guess she snapped. Joey is fine I told the sitter to tell him that you were with me so he'd go back to bed."
"All right, but why does this person know about Joey. Jimmy, are you in trouble again?"
He knew he didn't have a lot of time to explain what had happened in the last few days but knew he would when he found her. Right now all he could think about was getting her out of wherever she was. He wasn't sure what this guy was capable of, and how much power he had. He couldn't let Kim know how scared he was, or she might go over the edge.
"I thought I had it all sorted out. But I guess I forgot one of my old bookies. He told me if I didn't get money to him he'd hurt someone I loved. I guess what I got him wasn't enough and he wants to scare me."
"Why me?" she sniffled.
"Cause after Joey you're the thing in this world the means the most to me."
He heard her voice catch for a moment. It was the truth. How screwed up was he that it took something like that for him to realize how much Kim meant to him. He had never stopped loving her but they just hadn't been able to make it work.
"Is Joey going to be all right?" Kim asked, worried.
"He said he wouldn't hurt him. He's fine now, isn't he?"
"Jimmy call the police, something."
"I can't or he'll-" he stopped her he heard an exasperated half sob half squeak. "I'm sorry."
"If it's between me and Joey you have to promise me you'll pick Joey."
end part 3