Chapter 22: Jenga

. . .

As Jo passed Cincinnati it occurred to her that this would be nothing but a pleasant drive. It was raining so heavily that she had to put the wipers on the highest speed in order to see anything through the windshield. She felt tired and annoyed. All she dreamed about right now was curling herself up in bed and falling asleep.

She thought about Mac. If he hadn't changed his mind at the very last moment, she would have been lying in the ridiculously big hotel bed right now. Snuggled up against him and enjoying the afterglow. Feeling wonderfully relaxed and safe. She sighed deeply. Some things just weren't supposed to happen.

She was startled when suddenly her phone started to ring, resounding loudly as it had automatically connected to the hands-free unit in Mac's car. She patiently waited for the call to go to voicemail.

''Jo... please pick up...'' Mac's voice said finally. He sounded worried, but she was too angry to pay much attention. ''Jo...'' He repeated, even more softly. After a few seconds of silence he sighed deeply. ''Jo, I'm sorry... I came back to... to talk to you, but you were already gone.'' He explained and became silent for a moment. ''I wish you were here.'' He added and Jo raised her eyebrows. He sounded very honest in this last confession and for a second Jo hesitated. All it took to talk to him was to push one small button. ''Jo, please be careful.'' He asked and cleared his throat. ''I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you.'' He added quietly and hung up.

Jo let out a sigh of annoyance. She didn't mean to make him worry. She just didn't feel like facing him, that's why she had run away. But now he was not only stuck away from home, but also worrying if she would make it home safe. Hell, she knew that she would be worrying about him if he was the one driving alone in the night and in the pouring rain. She slowly took her foot off the accelerator. She could still turn back.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the 'off ramp' sign. But she was still driving too fast in order to make the turn safely. She passed the exit and saw the sign which said that the next one would be in 12 miles. She sighed and then saw the big sign which said that making a U-turn wasn't allowed. She stared at the sign, pondering if they were always that big or it was her imagination that was making it so huge. As soon as she passed it, she sped up. She wanted to be home as soon as possible.

. . .

After almost 5 hours of non-stop driving, Jo was able to see the morning dawning on the horizon. She moved her head slowly, stretching her neck. Her eyelids were getting heavier with every second and for a moment she became anxious that she might fall asleep behind the wheel.

She changed the radio station a few times, looking for something that could keep her awake. But it seemed that all stations were broadcasting only calm music and feature programs. She switched to the CD, skipping from one to the other. Three of them were of Mac's classical music. She rolled her eyes and tried to stifle a yawn. If only it was Wagner or Grieg, that would do. But it was Beethoven who was Mac's all time favorite composer and his 'Moonlight Sonata' started to play right now. Jo was just about to push the button and switch to the next CD, when she thought of those times when Mac played this piece for Lily, to put her to sleep when she was traveling with them. It always worked and Jo smiled at the recollection. She relived those moments when Mac was taking care of Lily, with all the affection she didn't even know he was able to show to anybody. She couldn't find words to describe how sweet it was. But there was also another reason why she loved to watch them interact so much – every single time her imagination started to toy with the idea of Mac showing a different kind of affection towards her. She sighed deeply and thought that she probably wouldn't ever know for sure how that would feel.

She briefly thought about the meeting with Judge Collins which was scheduled on Wednesday. She had been anxious all along about what the final decision on adopting Lily and Rick would be. But now it was even worse. She wasn't sure if she and Mac were still a team. And if not...

The sharp sound of a car horn brought her back to reality. She turned the wheel suddenly, realizing that she had gone into the next lane without even being aware of it. The car to her left honked two more times and sped up, leaving her behind. She shook her head, trying to come back to her senses. She really needed to take a break. According to the sign, the next gas station was 5 miles away. She sighed and switched to the next CD. She smiled widely as she immediately recognized it. It was the ''Muse'' CD that Ellie had brought into the car and insisted on playing every time she was in it, to the point that Jo felt like rolling the car window down and throwing the damn CD out. But now she was more than glad that she hadn't done so, as there was a chance that she would stay awake and make it to the gas station in one piece.

. . .

''One ticket to New York.'' Mac asked, placing his small bag on the counter. The lady at the desk smiled and checked flights in her computer.

''The next one to New York is fully booked...'' She said slowly. ''And the next one... yeah, fully booked as well. The earliest one is at 11.25 p.m.'' She told Mac.

''It's too late. I have to get to New York as quick as possible.'' He told her, furrowing his eyebrows.

''Well... Let's see what can I do...'' She said and clicked for a couple of minutes. ''You can take the connecting flight to Chicago in half an hour and from there to New York at 1.50 p.m.'' She offered.

''Chicago?'' Mac asked. ''That's the quickest way? To head West when I want to head East?''

''Well... The other possibility is to take the flight to Charlotte in an hour and then the flight to Washington at 9.15 a.m. and then...''

''No, no, no. I'm not going to change twice.'' Mac protested.

''I thought you said that time matters for you.'' The lady noted.

''Yes, but will it really be quicker with two changes?'' He asked and she stared at him, trying to figure out if that was a rhetorical question or not.

''OK, then. How about...'' She typed on the keyboard quickly. ''… the flight to New York with a refueling stop in Philadelphia? It takes off at 8.20 a.m. and the stop takes only an hour and a half. You'll be in New York a couple minutes after 1 p.m.''

''All right then.'' Mac sighed.

''That will be... $768.35.'' She told him and smiled.

''Great.'' He murmured, handing her his credit card.

. . .

It was slightly after 8 a.m. when Jo pulled over at the gas station. She refilled, then parked the car in the small parking lot in front of the building. When she entered it, she saw two men who looked like truck drivers, eating greasy hot dogs. As they spotted her, they stopped eating and stared at her. She walked towards the counter and ordered a big cup of coffee with a double shot of espresso. Then she asked for the bathroom. When she was back the men were still watching her every move, which made her frown slightly. She took two walnut chocolate bars, picked up her coffee and paid. Then she left and headed to the car. While inside she placed the coffee in the cup holder, as it was too hot to drink it, and she checked her phone. She thought about calling the kids, but then she decided it was too early. She tossed the phone into the passenger seat and leaned back, closing her eyes. She felt so sleepy and tired. If only she could take a nap...

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, when suddenly she nearly jumped out of her skin at the loud knock on the window. She turned her head and saw one of the truck drivers, who was indicating to her to roll the window down. She hesitated slightly. Finally she did as he asked, but only a couple of inches. Then she threw him a questioning look and he smiled in response.

''You shouldn't be sleeping in the car. It's not safe.'' He told her and grinned some more. She cast a glance at the surveillance camera on the building, but it was pointed at the gas pumps instead of the parking lot. ''There is a motel not so far away from here.'' He said. ''You can use my room if you want.'' He added with a smirk.

Jo furrowed her brows even more upon hearing him. Her hand instinctively went down, to her side, where her gun usually was. But not this time.

''I wasn't sleeping.'' She told the man in a calm voice, looking him in the eye. ''I've been waiting for my husband who went to the rest room.'' She added.

''Yeah, right...'' He answered and from the smirk that crept on his lips she could tell that he wasn't buying it. She slowly reached to the right pocket of her jacket and felt the car keys. At the same time she kept an eye on the man and when she saw that he moved his hand slightly towards the door handle, she quickly blocked the door with her left hand while putting the car key in the ignition. The man yanked the door handle, but he was unable to open it. She quickly turned the engine on and pulled out from the parking lot, forcing the man to jump away.

Only after a couple of minutes she realized that she had been driving way too fast. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and then took a big gulp of her coffee.

''God, what a creep...'' She murmured to herself. She reached out to turn the radio on, but before she did so she thought about calling Mac. She had a perfect excuse – after all he had called her before. She told herself that she should let him know that she was fine, instead of keeping him worried. She didn't want to admit to herself that the truth was she just wanted to hear his voice. She dialed his number and waited for the connection. Much to her surprise the call went straight to voice mail, as if he had his phone turned off.

She sighed. She really felt like talking to someone, so she decided to call the kids. After a couple of rings Lily answered the phone.

''Hi, sweetheart!'' Jo greeted her. ''Why is it you answering the phone again?''

''Everyone else is sleeping.'' Lily explained. ''Only me and Lucy are awake and we're playing in my room.''

''Really?'' Jo asked with surprise. ''Even Amy?''

''Yes, she's sleeping on the couch.''

''That's weird... What did you do last night?'' Jo asked.

''We watched 'Tangled' and 'Ice Age'. And we ate popcorn. It was yummy, even the burned one!''

''The burned one...?'' Jo frowned. ''Lily, can you wake up Ellie or Tyler?''

''Ellie hasn't returned yet.'' Lily told her.

''What do you mean 'she hasn't returned yet'?'' Jo asked with anxiety. ''She wasn't with you last night?''

''Nope. She put on some really nice dress and painted her eyes and she left.'' Lily explained.

''OK, can you go to the bedroom and wake Tyler up?'' Jo asked again.

''To the bedroom? But he's sleeping here, on the couch.''

''On the couch? But I thought you said Amy is sleeping on the couch...''

''She is.'' Lily confirmed.

''Never mind, just wake him up and tell him I want to talk to him, OK?'' Jo asked her.

''OK!''

There was a rather long pause and then Jo heard Tyler's hoarse voice.

''Halo?''

''Tyler, is everything fine?'' Jo asked suspiciously.

''Sure. Why?''

''Where is Ellie?''

''Umm... Ellie?''

''Yes, your sister. Ellie.'' Jo told him, getting both irritated and worried at the same time.

''She went to a party.'' Tyler admitted.

''To a party?! To what party?!''

''One of her friends from the soccer team was throwing a birthday party. Andy, I think.'' Tyler told Jo slowly.

''You think? Tyler, you're completely irresponsible! You both are. You should have told me about it.''

''And you'd have said 'no'.''

''I probably would have, because I don't know any Andy.''

''Mom, relax. She left me the address, she has her phone. She promised to be back at 10 a.m.''

''It's 10.15 already.'' Jo noted, checking her watch.

''That means she will be back any minute.''

''Can you please give the phone to Amy?'' Jo asked.

''Umm... sure.'' Tyler murmured. ''Wait, I'll have to wake her up.'' He said and he placed the phone down for a moment.

''Hi, Ms Danville.'' Amy greeted Jo as soon as she took the phone.

''Hi, Amy. Is everything OK?''

''Yes, everything is just fine. Lucy and Lily were having fun, they played together the whole time. Rick was mostly reading.''

''How about Tyler? Did he give you any troubles?''

''Tyler? No... He's... nice.'' Amy said slowly as if she was choosing her words carefully.

''And Ellie?'' Jo asked.

''Well, Ellie... went to a party.'' Amy admitted shyly.

''Mom, I told Ellie she could go.'' Tyler said, taking the phone from Amy. ''Amy has nothing to do with that.''

''OK, we'll talk about it when I'm back.'' Jo told him and he sighed.

''So... when will that be exactly?'' He asked.

''I'll be home around noon.'' Jo said.

''Tomorrow?'' Tyler asked, wanting to be sure.

''No, today.''

''What? How come?!'' He asked, sounding very surprised, but something was telling Jo it wasn't a pleasant surprise for him.

''Long story.'' She murmured. Then she heard some noise in the background and Amy saying something she couldn't understand. ''What's going on?'' She asked.

''Ellie just got back.'' Tyler explained.

''Oh, terrific.'' Jo said, glad to hear that. ''Tell her I want to talk to her.'' Jo asked and there was a little bit of silence.

''Hi, mom.'' Ellie said, trying to sound cheerful, but there was a clear hesitation in her voice.

''Hi, darling.'' Jo answered in a sweet voice. ''Guess what? You're grounded.'' She added.

''But... mo-o-om!''

''Love you, too. 'Bye.'' Jo said and hung up.

. . .

As Jo had predicted, she crossed the doorstep of their apartment slightly after noon.

''I'm home!'' She cried out, feeling more than happy at the thought of putting herself to bed and sleeping till late evening.

''Joooo!'' Lily squealed, running towards her.

''Hi, sweetie! How are ya?'' Jo greeted her while hugging her tightly. Then she took a look at her and furrowed her eyebrows slightly. ''What are you wearing?'' She asked, as she couldn't recall that Lily had a dress like the one she was wearing.

''It's Lucy's. We changed clothes.'' Lily told her with a big smile.

''Exchanged.'' She corrected her and Lily nodded. ''But... why?'' She asked.

''Because it's funny!'' Lily exclaimed happily. ''Lucy wore my trousers and sweater and Amy didn't notice before she left with her! And you might as well think I'm Lucy!''

''Hmm... let me see...'' Jo said in a serious tone, bending forward to take a better look at Lily. ''I'm sure Lucy isn't ticklish here!'' She told her and tickled her neck, which made Lily laugh.

''Hi, mommy!'' Ellie said sweetly, but Jo just cast her a warning look.

''It won't work, El.'' She said.

''But mo-o-om!'' Ellie whined in response. ''I got invited at the very last minute and...''

''It's the 21st century, honey. You could have called me.'' Jo noted, walking to her bedroom and dropping the bag on the floor behind the door.

''And you'd have said 'no'!''

''I would have. Because I don't know any Andy. You've never talked about her. Is she a girl from your school?'' Jo asked, walking back to the kitchen and fixing herself a drink with Ellie following her.

''Andy it's a... boy.'' Ellie said, casting an unsure glance towards Jo. ''Not a girl.''

''Oh...''

''He's from our school and he's a captain of the soccer team.'' Ellie started to explain hastily. ''He's two years older than me and he moved here from Wyoming. He just started to get to know the people and...''

''And Ellie seems to have a crush on him.'' Tyler ended, entering the kitchen.

''No, I don't!'' Ellie yelled and punched him in the arm, blushing heavily at the same time.

''Yes, you do.'' Tyler teased her, trying to avoid her punches.

''And you have a crush on Amy!'' Ellie yelled and it was Tyler's turn to blush.

''You little...'' He hissed out, but managed to stop himself just in time.

''Wait! Amy? Which Amy?'' Jo asked and Tyler sent Ellie an angry glare. ''Our Amy? Our nanny?''

''I don't know any other Amy...'' Tyler said quietly.

''You've gotta be kidding me.'' Jo sighed, placing the glass with juice down on the counter. ''You're not going to date her, Tyler.'' She warned.

''Why not?!'' Tyler asked.

''Because I'll never find a nanny like her when you break up.'' Jo groaned.

''What makes you think that we will break up?'' Tyler asked angrily.

''Because you're 22!'' Jo told him.

''So what?!''

''Last month it was Alex, today it's Amy, in a month it will be someone else. Annie, Ally or...
I don't know, Annabelle!'' Jo told him impetuously.

''How can you know?'' Tyler asked, his voice full of reproach. ''What if she's the one?''

''Tyler, please...'' Jo sighed.

''Why do you think only about the bad things that could happen?'' He asked and looked Jo in the eye. ''What if she's the one and I just let her go?'' He added more calmly and Jo knew that he had already made up his mind. ''I'm going to date her, because she is different from all the girls I know and I want to get to know her better.'' Tyler declared and as he was finished, he turned on his heel and left the kitchen.

''I don't want you two to date each other!'' Jo yelled after him, but the only answer was the sound of the door being slammed behind him. She took a sip from the glass, trying to calm herself. Ellie was watching her carefully the whole time, not saying a word.

''Mom, listen...'' She spoke up finally after a couple of minutes. ''I know you said I'm grounded, but I thought... Yesterday Andy asked me out to a movie and I promised him I would go, so...''

''So call him and tell him you won't be able to because you're grounded.'' Jo murmured.

''But mom, I can't...'' Ellie started.

''Ellie, I'm not going to repeat myself.'' Jo warned.

''Mooom, pleeease...'' Ellie whined.

''You'll go next time.''

''How can you know there will be next time? What if he won't ask me out ever again?'' Ellie moaned, but Jo only rolled her eyes. ''Mom, I really like him and... and... we kissed last night.'' She added quietly. ''Mom, I really want to go.'' She begged. ''Why can't I be grounded from tomorrow on?''

''Because you're grounded from today.'' Jo told her and put the glass into the sink. ''If he likes you too, he'll ask you out again.''

''You're horrible!'' Ellie cried out. ''Why can Tyler date Amy but I can't go out for a date?!''

''Because Tyler is an adult and I can't ground him.'' Jo explained.

''It's so unfair!'' Ellie yelled and ran out from the kitchen.

''Great. I haven't been home even for 10 minutes yet...'' Jo murmured to herself. It seemed like everything was falling apart all at once, as if she had drawn the wrong block and disturbed the balance of the whole construction. She rubbed her forehead. She really needed to lie down and rest, as her head was pounding like crazy. She headed towards the bedroom.

''Hi, Jo!'' Rick greeted her as she entered the living room.

''Hi.'' She said and smiled at him lightly.

''Where's Mac?'' Rick asked and Jo sighed.

''Don't you start...''

. . .

It was already 3 p.m. when Mac finally got home. He was truly annoyed as it took almost an hour before the plane was able to take off in Philadelphia due to bad weather conditions. He hated flying. It was supposed to be the quickest way to travel, yet usually he wasted more time in airports than the time he spent in the air.

As soon as they had landed he turned his phone on and saw that Jo had tried to contact him. He had tried to call her back, but she didn't answer, which had worried him even further.

He put the bag on the floor and listened. The apartment seemed to be very quiet, which was rather strange. The only noise he could hear was music coming from Ellie's room, so he headed there first. When he entered, he saw Ellie lying on her back, her phone in her hands.

''Hi, El!'' He greeted her and she glared at him.

''Hi.'' She murmured. He furrowed his eyebrows. Something was clearly not right.

''Did something happen?'' He asked carefully.

''Nothin'.'' Ellie grunted. ''I wish I was 18 already and could decide for myself.'' She added.

''Oh...'' Mac sighed. He was more than sure that she had had an argument with Jo. ''So... mom's home?'' He asked.

''Yeah.'' Ellie confirmed.

''Where is she, then?''

''I dunno.'' Ellie mumbled and shrugged her shoulders.

''OK...'' Mac nodded. It seemed that it was better to leave her alone, at least for now.

He went to their bedroom and slowly opened the door. As he thought, Jo was sleeping. Her phone was placed next to her, on the pillow, the little red light flashing, which told him that she had silenced it when she lay down. But it didn't matter now. He could see with his own eyes that she was perfectly fine.

She was lying on her side, with Lily nestled comfortably next to her, Jo's arm keeping her from falling off the bed. Mac smiled at the sight. Lily wouldn't miss a single opportunity to cuddle. He knew that very well from his own experience.

He sighed and left the bedroom. He was aware that they had to talk about what had happened, but waking Jo in order to do that seemed to be the worst possible idea.

He walked into the living room and saw Rick sitting on the couch and reading a book.

''Hi, Rick.'' He told him, slouching on the couch next to him.

''Hi, Mac!'' Rick responded. He seemed to be really happy to see him, which made Mac smile.

''What are you reading?'' Mac asked.

'' 'Baseball for Dummies'.'' Rick answered and showed him the book's cover.

''Huh?'' Mac asked with a frown, as it was probably the last title he would expect Rick to be reading.

. . .

A/N So here comes the next chapter... I'd like to tell you all JAC fans ''I'm sorry'' for how this story turned out, but instead of that, I'm telling you ''be patient'' ;) It isn't over yet, still everything can happen...

Many thanks to UrbanMuse for correcting this chapter!

All thoughts/opinions/suggestions etc. are welcome, as always.