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Chapter Twenty Two: John, Bo and Langston

John walked into the station after having dropped Marty off and telling Mike to call him once her appointment was over so he could go back and get her.

"Hey, John," Commissioner Bo Buchanan greets his best detective, "It's good to see you around here again. How are Marty and the baby?"

"Hey, Bo. It's good to be around again. Marty and the baby are healthy. We uh found out after the accident that we're having a girl."

"Well, that's wonderful. Congrats, John. You guys are gonna be great parents."

"Yeah, it is pretty great except there's just one small thing that's going on with Marty. I guess it's not small when you think about it, but um during the accident she hit her head," John explains, "And Mike told me that she's got some kind of temporary memory loss now. Like amnesia or something. She's been taking it really hard."

Bo was stunned by John's confession about Marty and patted his friend on the back, "Hey, don't let this worry you. Marty's tough, she's strong. If anyone can get past this, it's Marty. You guys will figure this out."

"Yeah, I hope so. She's going to some kind of hypnotizing head shrinker this Dr. Saunders guy to help her remember."

"You're afraid she'll remember everything that happened with Manning and Laurence aren't you?"

"I am," He admitted, "I mean it was pretty traumatic then and it's not going to get any less now. And then there's the baby. I just don't think I could lose her, not now, not after everything. I love Marty too much, Bo."

"You want some advice?"

"Don't you usually doll out the fatherly advice for Balsom?"

"Well since he's not around, I'll give it to you, John. After all my wisdom knows no bounds." Bo joked smiling before his mood turned serious. Clearing his throat he said, "Listen when Marty remembers she'll have you there to help her get through it. You won't lose her. She needs you as much as you need her. Marty's not going to abandon you, John she's not that kinda person. Just be honest with her and let her know you're in it for the long haul. It'll all work out. I know it will."

"Thanks, Bo."

"Anytime, John, anytime. And when that little girl is born you better be bringing her in here every day. She's going to be a looker you know." He replied with a wink.

John laughed as he shook his head while walking into his office he whispered to himself, "Yeah, my little girl's going to be something to see just like her Mom."

About a half an hour later while John was catching up on back end paper work, a knock on his office door alerted him, "Come on in." He called.

Langston sighed as she walked into the Llanview Police Station wondering what the hell she was doing there. She didn't know John McBain from Adam yet she was ready to spill her guts to him about something she'd never tell Starr in a million years, and Starr was her best friend.

You're here now so it's too late to chicken out now, She reminded herself as she approached the door marked Lieutenant John McBain by a lacquered black name plate. Taking a deep breath she knocked lightly and waited for a response. Once she heard his deep voice call for her to go in, she turned the door knob and walked through the door.

"Hi." She said as he looked up from his paper work.

To say John was stunned to see Langston in his office was an understatement. They really didn't know each other at all so he wasn't sure what she was doing there. Sure, they had decorated the tree with Marty and Cole but they barely said two words to each other. What was she doing here?

"Hi," He said, "Uh you're Langston right?"

"Yeah, that's me Cole's friend. Um listen if you're busy," She said noticing all the paper work that cluttered his desk, "We can pretend like I was never here and just forget about it."

"What if I'm not busy?"

"Then I guess I'm gonna have to tell you why I'm here, huh? Not that I really know. It's just that um Cole he mentioned a couple times that you're really easy to talk to and I don't really have anyone else to talk to . . . So whaddya say? You up for talking to a teenage girl for a few minutes?"

John smiled wryly, "I can spare you a few minutes. Shut the door please. So Cole said I was easy to talk to huh?"

"Yeah, he did. Look what I'm about to tell you is something I don't ever plan on telling my best friend, which is really huge for me. And what I'm going to tell you is huge, really huge."

"Is it about Cole?"

Langston suddenly felt like the room's four walls were closing in on her as her cheeks burned crimson. How did he know she was here about Cole? What was this guy a mind reader?

"It might be." She mumbled under her breath her eyes downcast to the floor for fear he would be able to read them.

"It might be, huh," John mused leaning back in his chair, "It either is about Cole or it isn't. So which one is it Langston?"

"All right maybe I do want to talk about Cole. It's just everything is happening so fast. You know when he and Starr were all lovey dovey and all Romeo and Juliet and stuff we barely talked. The most we talked was when I tried to help them run away. Now it's all different and I'm confused."

"Do you like Cole? Is that what's different?"

"I guess. I mean we've gotten to know each other over winter break and all. Things have changed and I'm feeling things I've never felt before for anyone. I mean I didn't even really like him when he and Starr first met, you know? And now it's all different and I'm not sure if it's a good different or not."

"You know it's not a bad thing if you like him. Cole's a good kid and from what he says a smart gal like you should figure this kind of stuff out pretty quick."

"He talks about me?" Langston wondered nonchalantly but the flush in her cheeks gave her away.

"Yeah, he's mentioned you a couple times. He doesn't think about Starr the way he used to so he's got someone else on the brain. Just talk to him and see how it goes."

"Cole's right you are easy to talk to," Langston smiled as she turned to leave. Quickly she turned back around saying, "Um listen this conversation never happened. I was never here."

"Your secret's safe with me."

John shook his head as he watched the teenage girl leave his office wondering when the hell he became the expert on giving kids advice. First it was Cole now it was the girl he liked. What the hell was going on? Then he realized it all came back to Marty. It was Marty who encouraged him to be more open and now he felt more relaxed around other people, more apt to talk to them without shutting down.

Or maybe just maybe he had finally inherited the gift of gab from his Dad. Nah, Marty just helped him find talking to people easier. That was it.