A/N Again I apologize for the delays in this chapter. I can only hope that you believe that it was worth the wait.
THE DENVER EDITION – CHAPTER 7
It had been two days. Two of the longest days of Ruthie's life, and it didn't look to be changing any time soon. No contact at all, not an E-Mail, not a card, letter or carrier pigeon; nada. To say that the girl was depressed would be an understatement of cosmic proportions. To her knowledge, she had only felt worse twice in her life, once was after her boyfriend dumped her publicly in Chicago, and the second was when she realized she would have to leave Chicago. She had tried everything that she could think of, everything that had worked in the past. She had listened to the Beatles, which had never failed to cheer her up, until now. She had even tried to paint it out of her system, but it hadn't worked (Nif had freaked over the painting so Ruthie gave it to her). She had started combing the paper, looking for excuses to go to the hospital, but the entire city of Denver seemed to be disgustingly healthy. Play practice hadn't helped, and neither had work. Ruthie wasn't sleeping well; she was barely eating, and felt like she would burst into tears at the drop of a hat. In short, the girl was falling apart.
She rolled out of bed a minute or two before Quark was due to show up and opened the door. She had been lying in bed wide awake for the last hour. As she was getting the coffee maker going, she heard the sound of the paper hitting the floor, and the swing of the door as Quark wormed his way in.
Ruthie went over and picked up her special copy of the Denver Post and went through it, hoping that there would be some story or save that would give her an excuse to go over to the hospital today, but it didn't look like the paper was cooperating. Actually it looked like a fairly slow day; a man falling off the roof of a building looked to be the only unusual save. Feeding Quark and getting ready, she headed off to keep Denver safe, although she would have preferred to know what was going on in the mind of a certain doctor.
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The saves had gone well, despite a near miss with an angry guard dog, and now Ruthie was taking care of her last save of the day. Because it hadn't said anything about suicide, Ruthie concluded that there must have been an accident of some sort to cause the man to fall, so she went up to the roof as 'Kate McKellar' with the Department of Power and Water, on a surprise inspection. She was looking around, trying to find anything that would inadvertently knock a guy off the roof, when she heard the access door open up. She hurried over to see a man headed towards the western side of the building.
"Excuse me sir, what are you doing up here" Ruthie called out.
The man stopped and looked over at her "just taking in the view, I come up here and watch the sun settle over the mountains almost every day."
"That's OK sir, but my name is Kate McKellar, I'm an inspector with the city" Ruthie said, flashing her fake ID "and right now I'm working here. So if you could watch the sun some other day that would be great."
"Sure" the man said, shrugging his shoulders "sorry if I messed anything up."
"Not a problem sir" Ruthie said, grateful that the guy wasn't being obstinate "I'll be done by the end of the day, so tomorrow would be fine."
The man just thanked her and left. As soon as he did, Ruthie went over to the west side of the building. There had been no name and no picture in the paper, so Ruthie was forced to conclude that she had just stopped the guy from falling, but unless she wanted to be up here every day, she had better find out what made the guy fall in the first place. Ten minutes later she was just frustrated, she could find no reason for the man to have fallen, and he had given in too easily for a man who was set on suicide; no there must have been a reason for him to fall, she just couldn't find it. She leaned against a railing to think and suddenly the reason for the fall was abundantly clear.
Someone must have been working on the thing and somehow not secured it properly, because when Ruthie had leaned against it, the safety railing had swung open like a gate and left her teetering on the edge of the roof and contemplating a thirty story fall.
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What surprised Ruthie the most was what she was feeling. It wasn't fear or even regret, it was anger. Anger because she had done all of these dangerous things and come out alive only to be done in because some wrench jockey forgot to tighten a bolt. Anger because someone would have to dive into the paper blind, and people would be hurt because of that. But mostly anger because she would never find out what Doug had decided.
Gravity finally took a good hold and Ruthie could feel herself overbalancing and starting to fall. Just then, a hand grabbed her belt and jerked her back onto the roof. She lay where she fell, face down and momentarily unable to move, so she lay there wondering who had just saved her life.
"Pretty silly way to check out, don't you think."
Ruthie rolled over, a look of shock on her face as she met the laughing eyes of Gary Hobson. She lay there a moment, stunned by this turn of events, then she started laughing. Gary knelt down and held her in his arms and she laughed and cried, but the laughter prevailed.
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"So how have you been doing?"
"OK I guess" Ruthie replied "I haven't lost anyone yet, but I've been close a couple of times."
"Been in the hospital much?"
"Three times but nothing major; a bite, a sprained ankle and cracked ribs."
"That's good; the thing I hate most about this job is all the hospital time."
"What about the lying, does that ever get any easier?"
"Nope, that's something you're stuck with."
"That's the part I hate the most."
"I understand, with me it got so bad I started loosing my hair."
The two of them were still sitting on the roof of the building. For some reason Ruthie just didn't seem up to moving just yet, so she took the opportunity to talk to someone who understood her world perfectly. Gary had been there and done that and even had the T-shirt.
"I just feel dirty, especially when I know I'm lying to good people. I don't mind lying to jerks and criminals nearly so much, but when I lie to nice, decent people, it just hate it."
"I know, but it's necessary."
"I know it is Gary, that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"True, so how's life other than the paper."
Ruthie thought silently for a moment "some of it is great, but some of it really sucks."
"Let me guess, the friends and parents are great, the other jobs are fun, but the romance sucks. Or more specifically, the lack of romance sucks."
Ruthie just looked at him gape-jawed for a moment; finally she asked "have you been talking to Teressa?"
"No, I just remember how it was when I first got that thing. So tell me what's happening."
Ruthie just started talking and soon was spilling the entire story to Gary, about how she had felt sorry for the guy at first and then how the caring and affection had grown until she was sure she was in love with the guy. "Then I told him about me and the paper, and he just left."
"Well, what did you expect?"
"I don't know" Ruthie said, with an exasperated tone "but a little communication would be nice."
"Maybe, but you just turned this guy's world on its ear. He's got to adjust his thinking about everything and with a guy as grounded and rational as this guy sounds, that may take a little while."
"Do you think I've lost him for good" Ruthie asked, airing her greatest fear.
"Kid, if you lost him over the paper, then you never had him." Gary got up and brushed off his jeans "where can you get a beer in this town?"
Ruthie smiled up at her mentor and said "I know a place."
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They were down at Bash Riprock's enjoying the band when Ruthie asked "so let's hear about the romantic debris on the Hobson Highway."
"What"
"Well it's only fair, you know all about me, but I don't know about any of your paper/romance disasters."
Gary sat back and thought for a minute "well, Meredith you know about."
"Carson, I thought that was just a rumor."
"Nope, she and I were involved for a while, and she knew about the paper."
"So what happened?"
"She stole it once, after she had promised not to. Everything worked out, but she decided that she couldn't do her job in Chicago anymore, that knowing about the paper would be too tempting, so she took a job in DC."
"Bummer"
"I sure thought so at the time; let's see, there were Emma, Lowe, Rebecca and Kate, but none of them knew about the paper."
"But did the paper get in the way?"
"Yeah, it did. With Emma I found out that she was gonna meet an old flame at the opera. This was the same night I had planned on telling her about the paper. Anyway I had a choice, make sure she didn't meet the old love and hope that our relationship worked out or re-unite the two."
"That must have been one tough decision, why did you choose to let her go?"
"Because keeping her with me, knowing what should have happened would have been selfish, and I just couldn't do that."
"I understand, so what about Rebecca?"
"She was a weathergirl that I thought was cute, so I started giving her the next day's weather. Unfortunately getting the weather right became more important than us."
"And Kate was the Irish girl you almost married?"
"Right, that was an adventure, especially with my mom going on about wanting grandchildren."
"And Lowe, what kind of a name is that?"
"A made up one, her real name was Princess Sibella of Moravia."
"You and a princess, go on."
"I swear it's true, you can even ask Chuck or Marissa, she was in Chicago and wanted to see what America was really like so at a party she fell asleep in the McGinty's van. So we spent a day or two together and there was really something there but she had responsibilities and so did I, so we went our different ways."
"Did you ever speak to her again?"
"No, but we still exchange letters and cards, once in a while."
"Does Brigatti know about her?"
"Yep, she knows about all of them."
"OK so tell me about the ones that knew about the paper."
"Well, there was Renee, but she didn't believe me; there was Rachel, but she was only twelve."
"What"
"She was a twelve year old girl that found out about the paper and swore we were meant to be together."
"So what happened to her?"
"She got a new heart and I think she's in nursing school now."
"So what about Erica?"
Gary thought for a moment longer "ultimately Erica needed to be first in a guy's life, and realized that the paper would always be first with me. She couldn't live like that so she left."
"So what do you think Gary, as far as Doug goes, are we doomed?"
"I have no idea kiddo, the only bit of advice I'll give you is what old Snow gave me and that's 'live your life'. Don't let the paper take over who you are."
Ruthie sat back and thought about that for a second, and when she looked up she happened to see another familiar face. Smiling she said "come on over Billy and have a seat."
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Billy Faraday had gone looking for Ruth Camden for several reasons; he just didn't know which one was the real one. First (at least at the moment) was the fact that he owed her for saving his life. But then it got all muddled, because he had also been captivated by the young artist. He thought she was beautiful, in a wholesome 'girl next door' kind of way, and that she was brave for putting herself between him and a shooter. But mostly it was her attitude afterwards, almost a devil-may-care 'OK I'm gonna live, lets move on here' attitude that reminded Billy of how a cop would react. As though saving a man's life and getting shot in the process was just another day at the office. The bottom line was he wanted to get to know her better.
He had gone to her gallery, only to be told that she wasn't there. When he had pressed her partner had given him the name of a bar. It was one he'd never been too, after all he tended to frequent cop bars. He wandered in, taking in the noise and commotion and was wondering how he could find anyone in a place like this when he heard a voice call out his name. He looked over, and there she was. His face lit up with a smile until he realized that she was sitting at a table with another guy. 'Just my luck' the young cop thought to himself, but he went over anyway. As he got closer, Ruthie jumped up and hugged him, and even kissed his cheek; Billy began to think that maybe he had a chance here after all. "So how are you fella" the girl asked.
"Still a little shaky" the young detective answered "but its getting better."
As they both sat down Ruthie said "Billy Faraday, I'd like you to meet my friend and mentor, Gary Hobson."
Suddenly Billy felt energized for a couple of reasons, one was that this guy was not a boyfriend or fiancé or anything like that; the other was that this was the same name (and presumably the same guy) that the girl had used to back off Armstrong; maybe he could find some answers.
"Gary, Billy here is one of Denver's finest and works for your old friend Armstrong."
"Small world" Gary said with a grin at Ruthie.
Billy leaned forward "so what does he have against you?"
Gary laughed "I own a bar, and I hear lots of things. When I hear about something that needs to be taken care of, I do it. Armstrong started wondering why I seemed to be involved in all of these shady situations and decided that I was some kind of master criminal. He was pretty bent out of shape when he realized that he was wrong."
"Dating his partner didn't help" Ruthie added.
"True enough" Gary said, then he turned back to Billy "after that he just wasn't comfortable around me, he was so sure and then to find out that he was completely wrong, well let's just say he didn't handle it well. When there was an opening out here, he took it."
"So that's why he freaks out whenever your name is mentioned, you remind him of a screw up."
"Pretty much" Gary said.
Satisfied for the moment Billy turned to Ruthie "you wanna dance"?
Ruthie considered for a second and then her face lit up with a smile "I'd love to" she answered.
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Maggie looked up; Dr. Howser was doing it again; just staring off into space. All of the nurses had taken note of the funk he was currently wallowing in. Half of the staff was convinced that the young artist had dumped him, and the other half believed that he had dumped her; either way the young doctor was obviously miserable. "Are you alright doctor" she asked.
He snapped to himself and looked around wildly for a second, then he calmed "what was that Maggie?"
"I asked if you were alright Dr. Howser. Every now and again you'll just stare off into space for minutes at a time."
Doug sighed "yeah I'm alright Maggie, thanks for the concern."
The nurse started to turn away shaking her head at how stubborn men could be at times when his voice stopped her. "What if someone you cared about told you that they had a really dangerous job, something that would always come first in their lives."
Maggie turned back to face doctor Howser "do you believe that a job defines who you are?"
Doug thought for a moment "no, not really, but your job does help define your priorities in life."
"Your priorities yes, but it doesn't dictate who you are."
"So you're saying that what someone does with their life is only an incidental part of who they are."
"Exactly, now I'll admit that some jobs, like policeman or fireman or doctor, she said pointedly, have some built in drawbacks but if you truly care about a person then anything can be overcome. I guess the question you should be asking yourself is 'is she worth the effort'?"
Doug looked thoughtful for a moment letting his mind remember how she had looked during rehearsals, and all of the time that they had spent together. Suddenly he had the answer. It might have taken three days, but he was now certain about what he wanted. He turned to the charge nurse with the first genuine smile he had worn in a couple of days "thanks Maggie" he said and went back to work.
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Ruthie was tired; she had just arrived back at her place after putting Gary on a plane for Chicago. She had enjoyed seeing him again. In her time in Denver she had forgotten about his wisdom and gentle good humor. Between Gary and Billy she had forgotten about her misery for an evening.
Ruthie had been surprised to discover that she had enjoyed her time with the young detective. Gary had told her to live her life and she thought that if Doug couldn't accept her life and the priorities that came with it then maybe Billy could. If nothing else he was fun to be around. As Ruthie topped the stairs, she could hear someone in her hallway; and Quark's play bark. Confused she opened the door from the stairs to her hallway, slipping a small bottle of pepper spray into her left hand. It almost fell from her hands when she saw who it was, her look of confusion morphed into a huge smile that seemed to light up the entire hallway. Wordlessly she ran to him as he rose and threw herself into his arms. After a sweet eternity, she looked up and asked "been waiting long"?
"Not long" he answered with a smile "Quark here kept me company."
She glanced briefly down at the happy little dog "he's good at that, so why are you loitering outside my door at night"?
"Because I have to tell you something".
"Couldn't it wait" she asked in a teasing tone.
"No" he said "it's too serious to wait."
"Could it be more serious than me telling you just how much in love with you I am?"
Now there was a huge smile lighting up his face as well "I'd say it's about equal, because I was going to tell you how very much in love with you I am."
"Despite my pastime" she said with a certain amount of trepidation.
"Hey, who better than a doctor to understand?"
Ruthie stared into his eyes for a moment and seeing the goodness and sincerity there leaned in and kissed him deeply. Startled at first, he was soon enthusiastically returning the kiss. They stayed that way for a minute or two, then slowly broke apart, almost as if they were afraid this was some sort of dream.
"It's late" Ruthie said "why don't you stay here tonight?"
Doug thought for a moment, but just a moment; and answered "could I stay here forever?"
"I don't see why not" Ruthie said, opening the door.