A/N Don't know if I should apologize or not but this chapter is kind of long. I started writing and couldn't stop. If I had done everything I intended to write it would have been a heck of a lot longer. Enjoy..
A soft wind picked up over Willow Lake brushing across the young man's face. In the distance the faint sounds of a child's laughter echoed. Inside the old run down boat house there was silence.
Greenlee stared intently at Leo, just minutes before he had told he was sorry. Their eyes had been locked on one another while she waited for an explanation. Just as suddenly has he had uttered those words his eyes darted back to the mountains in the distance. She knew what he was looking at. She had been there to, stuck on that ledge, praying for an absolution that never came.
As Leo stared down the mountain almost willing it to crumble into pieces. Everything he had known and cherished had disappeared there. His mind move backwards bringing back the memories of that fateful night in October. After months of her fighting with him to get out of Pine Valley, to get away from the family that was suffocating them, he had finally given in. They had the reservations book, Greenlee had found them a place to live. Everything had been perfect, he should have known better, whenever life seemed to be at its greatest when it seemed nothing could or should go wrong, that's when it did.
If only he had listened to her sooner, if only he could have left his mother soon, if only he didn't go to see David that night…if only…his life had been one big regret since that night. Now he was back in the once place he had called home, sitting across from the woman that both infuriated him and made him complete. He wanted…no needed to tell her what happened. As he sat across from her thinking about the life he lead after being taken from her, he wondered how she would react. Would she be angry? Would she understand? What had her life been like without him?
"Leo?" she whispered softly. She knew he was somewhere else. Physically he was sitting there with her, but she knew mentally he was back there.
Her sweet voice cut through the screams and panic in his mind. Slowly he turned his eyes back to her once again their eyes were locked on one another.
"Leo…talk to me…" she pleaded.
Leo thought for a moment, "Do I ask her about that video? Do I have a right to ask her about what I saw? Maybe I should have let David tell me what happened, is it fair to her after what I've done?" As the endless questions ran through his mind he realized if he expected to find out about what he saw he was going to have to come clean with her first.
The T.V. screen in the middle of David's cabin sat frozen in the same spot that Leo had left it earlier that day. David stared at the look on Greenlee's face. David had felt more guilt about that night than anybody ever knew. He should have protected her, kept that night from happening, but he didn't, he had failed not just her but his brother to.
As David picked up the remote control to kill the power to the T.V., there was a soft knock on his front door. As he swung the door opened he was surprised at the visitor in front of him.
"Cara? What are you doing here?" He looked down at the petite Hispanic woman standing before him. Ever since she had found out she was pregnant with his child things had been strained between them. He wanted to be a part of her life; her brother wanted him as far from her as humanly possible. Then there was the stress of the Chandler party and everything that had followed. He had spent many sleepless nights think not just about the child he was carrying but, also about the two beautiful girls that had been taken from him and the grandson God had taken home just a few short weeks ago.
"Hi David." She stated simply as she walked into his home. "I thought it was time you and I talked."
"Of course." David nodded and motioned for her to sit on the couch. "Would you like something to drink? Tea? Maybe Water?"
"No. No thank you." She answered politely. As she sat on his couch she couldn't help but look at the T.V. that he hadn't turned off. Greenlee Lavery's brown eyes pierced through her own as she stared at the woman frozen in time before her. "David….what's this?" Cara asked curiously.
David quickly picked up the remote, pressing a quick button, made the screen fade to black.
"What was that David?" Cara wondered why David would have a video of his ex wife. Was he still in love with her? Was he stalking her? That didn't look like a video that was taken willingly.
David cursed himself for letting her see that. What was on that tape was between Greenlee and his brother.
"Are you spying on her?"
"What? No!" He was shocked by the question. Couldn't she tell the video was old? "I don't know where the video came from Cara." He answered her honestly hoping she still saw the good in him. "Someone delivered that for my brother. He's with her now. He deserves to know what happened there and she deserves to be the one to tell her."
David quickly changed the subject, "What brings you here Cara?"
"We need to talk about our baby…" she said instinctively rubbing her growing belly.
"Our baby?" He hoped she wasn't going to keep him from his child.
"Everyone keeps telling me how bad you are David. I'm sure you can imagine all the stories I've been told."
David laughed. He wouldn't be surprised if they had a class on David Hayward 101 at PVH. A class dedicated to educating Pine Valley's youth about his perceived misdeeds. "And?" he questioned.
"And…I know you've gone about things the wrong way. Keeping people from their families. I know David you think you were noble in what you did, but people deserved to know that they people they loved were still alive.
We take an oath saying 'First do no harm' but come on David people had to grieve their loved ones unnecessarily. Isn't that doing harm?"
"No I don't think so." He started. He was surprised when she didn't interrupt him and waited for his explanation. "Cara you know as well as I do that Orpheus was an experimental drug with proven results. But that wouldn't have matter to those idiots down there. Their minds were made up about me years ago. In their eyes everything I do is about an agenda. Take Greenlee for example if Jackson and Ryan had known I had saved her that night, I would never have been allowed to treat her. She would have died in a traditional hospital with the so called 'modern medicine."
"So the ends justify the means then?" Cara countered.
"Your damn right they did. Think about how many lives were saved because of Orpheus. How many people were reunited with the people they loved…happy and healthy. I know everyone things I save people because I want to play God. Well screw them." David tried to keep his emotions in check not wanting to reveal too much to this woman, in case she was here to dig up dirt on him to keep him from his child.
"Your father?"
David's eyes shot up. He had never told her about his father.
"Angie told me. David I understand why you made the choices you did. Like I said I've heard all the stories. Maria, Dixie, Greenlee, Stuart, and countless others who are alive. I want my child to know the father who did everything he could to make a positive difference in this world. Maybe if our child has your passion and persistence combined with my empathy and stubbornness, he or she will finally be able to make a difference in this world." Cara placed her hand softly on his.
"You mean…you want me to be a part of my child's life?" David asked cautiously. He had been stung many times. He had learned at a very early life to guard his heart…especially when it came to women. That was the only lesson Vanessa had ever taught him.
"I would never keep you from your child David…" Cara answered a loud series of bangs interrupted their conversation.
Greenlee couldn't help but notice the look in Leo's eyes. They were the same eyes she remembered but now there was a darkness to those loving eyes she had never seen before. This was the first time she had got to see him…and really look at him. He came back at the worst possible time, and then when they had finally got a chance to be alone together she had told him Ryan wanted to have a baby with her. And then today he busted in to Ryan's place a different man. She thought about the look in his eyes when she found him with Ryan. The only time she had seen that kind of anger in his eyes was when David had called her a whore. Now here they were sitting in their place saying nothing to one another. "Leo….what's going on with you?"
Leo shook the fog out of his mind as he heard the concern in her voice. "Greens…" he started.
She leaned forward ready to hear why he had brought her here. Hoping he was ready to tell her about the miracle that brought him back to her.
"If I live to be a hundred years old I'll never forget that night Greens….never. When you fell over that cliff…I called out to you and you just lay there motionless. I thought I lost you baby…nothing mattered…without you nothing mattered." Leo didn't mask the pain in his voice as the image of her invaded his mind. He knew he could always be honest with her, she would never think less of him.
Greenlee heard the pain in his voice. She knew exactly how he felt in that moment; it had been the same way she felt when he fell over the falls. When you love someone as deeply as they loved each other life doesn't seem worth living without the other person.
"When Vanessa realized you were alive….I couldn't let her hurt you again. As she pointed that gun at you I knew I had to protect you…the way I couldn't protect you before. In that moment I knew I was risking my own life but baby I couldn't let her hurt you again.
When were struggling for the gun all I could think about was that night at the Valley Inn. The image of you standing there with my mother, the way that knife glimmered in the light as she held it to your throat. The fear in your eyes gave me the strength to fight her as hard as I could. For a moment I thought I had the upper hand, she started to let go of the gun…but then…" In the back of his mind he could hear the boards breaking all over again as the stress of their combined weight became too much.
"When I hit the water it was so cold. I felt like someone was sticking me with a hundred knifes. I fought so hard baby…I did. I had watched you survive a twenty foot fall from a cliff…I knew if you had the strength to survive that I could survive to." As he filled her in on the missing pieces of that evening he could hear everything all over again. In the back of his throat he could taste the dirty water from the falls. "The current was so strong….the falls kept pushing me closer and closer to death…it was your love that gave me strength Greens. I kept kicking my legs against the bottom of the river…trying as hard as I could to keep my head above water.
I could hear your screams; you were calling out to me, begging me to come back to you. I don't know how but I managed to grab onto a log. I don't know where it came from or how I managed to not hit it when we fell from the overlook. I held onto it as tight as I could; trying to stay alive for you. As I held on for dear life it felt like everything was against us. I was growing so tired….that water was so strong. I remember getting my jacket off hoping losing some weight would help…
One moment I was holding on to that log for what felt like hours….probably only minutes I suppose…when everything went black."
David became irriated as he approached the door and the knocking grew more and more forceful. Just as his had reached for the doorknob he heard another man's voice.
"I know you're in there David…now open the Damn door or I'll break it down." Ryan pounded on the door over and over again his anger rising.
The door flung open and Ryan came face to face with David. "What the hell do you want Lavery!"
"Where's Greenlee?" Ryan barged into David's place paying no regards to David's lack of invitation.
Ryan stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the woman sitting on Hayward's couch. "What the…?" he started as David's voice yelled at him.
"Greenlee's not here. Now get the hell out of my house Ryan, you're not welcome here."
Ryan paid no attention to the doctor. "Cara?" he asked wondering why the younger doctor was there. "Did David hurt you?"
Cara saw the anger in David's eyes as the older man approached the intruder. "Ryan, it's none of your business why I'm here. Now I believe David asked you to leave. I've been here for awhile and I can assure you Greenlee's not here."
Ryan's mouth dropped open as Cara defended David. "What? Your defending David? Did he drug you?"
"Really? You really think David is going to poison the person carrying his child? Come on Ryan I know your smarter than that." Cara rolled her eyes.
"David's done worse than that Cara, I'm sure Griff as told you all about David's misdeeds."
Before Cara could answer David stepped between the two. "Cara thank you for coming by but I think I'm going to indulge Ryan here for awhile. Thank you for everything." David guided Cara to the door as she looked at him confused.
With Cara gone David turned back to Ryan. David had quickly realized that if Ryan was looking for Greenlee than his brother must have gone after her. David was more than happy to give the two of them more time together before Saint Lavery busted in on their reunion.
"Cara was right you know Ryan? Greenlee's not here."
"But I'm sure you know where she is and who she's with." Ryan spit out.
"Who she's with yes. Where they are no." David answered coyly.
"What did you do Hayward? What did you say to that brother of yours? He barged into my home and demands for my wife to leave with him. He has no regards for her recovery or our marriage. The only time Leo gets angry is when he's been provoked. So Hayward what did you say to him."
David only laughed at Ryan. He had never had any use for the man standing before him. He felt no need to tell Ryan about the video that had sent Leo running to her. David walked over to his cabinet of booze. He took out a bottle of his best scotch, pouring himself a glass before turning back to Lavery.
"Can I pour you a drink Lavery?"
Without warning Ryan rushed David forcing the man to drop the glass of scotch to the ground as he pinned him against the wall.
"WHERE THE HELL IS MY WIFE!" Ryan's anger quickly grew to a dangerous level.
"Get your hands off me Lavery. Greenlee is with Leo where belongs. Now get your hands off me!" David put his hands on the taller man trying to force Ryan to let him go.
Ryan pulled one hand back and quickly thrust it into David's face. He stood back as David crumpled to the ground. "I'm going to ask you one more time Hayward. Where…Is…My…Wife…"
David put his hand up to his jaw wiping the blood from his lip. "There's the ole' Ryan we all know and love. Now listen to me and listen to me real good. Even if I knew where my brother took HIS wife I would never tell."
"Greenlee is my wife you son of a bitch!" Ryan threw back.
"Wrong! Leo never died…your marriage to Greenlee is invalid." David gloated.
Greenlee sat back and listened as Leo took her back to that night at the falls. Whenever someone talked about that place she felt the same pain over and over again. Now she was learning what that night was like for Leo.
"I don't know how I survived Greens but one moment I'm hugging a log and the next I'm in a warm bed. At the time I had no idea what had happened. I woke up with the worst headache of my life in a strange place."
As Leo started to fill Greenlee in on his life he went back to that bedroom nine years ago…
"Hello?" Leo's eyes slowly opened. He shut them quickly as the bright light made his head hurt worse.
"It's ok son. You're safe." A woman's soft hand rested on top of his head.
She watched as he opened his eyes over and over again adjusting to the light. He was met with a woman's soft blue eyes staring into his own eyes. She was an older woman with a comforting touch that made him feel safe.
"Where am I?" he asked confused.
"You don't know?" the sweet voice asked.
"No…I don't…" he tried to wrap his mind around what was going on.
"First let's start with some easy questions dear. Can you tell me your name?"
"Um yeah…my name…my name is…." His voice trailed off as he had no recollection of who he was. "I don't know…." He admitted defeated.
"It's okay sweetie. We can figure all that out later. What is the last thing you do remember?" she pulled a chair up next to him sitting down. She held on to his hand offering the man comfort as he struggled with his memories.
Leo thought hard trying to remember something…anything. He closed his eyes hoping to bring a memory or a name to the surface. He lay there trying hard writing something on the blank slate that had become his mind. His eyes shot open as he heard a scream…a woman's scream maybe?
The old woman saw the fear in his eyes. She rubbed her hand up and down his arm, "It's ok dear. You don't need to force any memories. Not for an old coot like me. Now you lay here I'll get you something light to eat and I'll tell how you came to stay with me." Her soft voice spoke and for the first time he heard a slight French accent in her voice.
Leo lay in the bed trying to figure out who he was and how he got there. More than that he tried to figure out the scream he heard in the back of his mind. Something deep down inside told him the person who let out such a heartbreaking scream must be in pain.
He placed his hand to his head the source of much of his pain. He could feel a cut just above his hair line that was beginning to heal. "How long have I been here?" he wondered, "Was this woman a doctor? Maybe a nurse."
As he moved down his body assessing the damage done to it. His arms felt fine no signs of injury but his left leg hurt like hell. He tried moving his ankle, his knee; something but found his movement restricted by the cast that stretched from his ankle up his leg stopping in the middle of his thigh.
"You're lucky to be alive you know that son?" the voice entered the room.
The woman carried a tray of food into the room. She placed the food on a table before turning back to her patient. She helped the young man sit up in bed. He took a good look around the room. It was a small room only big enough for the twin bed he was stretched across and a dresser. On the wall to his left as a small window. He looked out and saw nothing but trees stretching for what he guessed miles.
Her voice pulled him back to her as she held up a spoonful of oatmeal to him. He didn't know why but he trusted the old woman and willing ate the food she offered, suddenly feeling very hungry.
When the bowl was empty the young man turned the conversation to where they were and what had happened to him.
"To start we are at my chateau near the Canal du Midi." She started.
"France?" he asked not sure how he knew that.
"Oui." She answered in France hoping he might remember something. "I found you a couple of months ago. I was driving home and came upon an over turned motor bicycle. At first I did not think anyone was there. Maybe the driver had run out of gas I thought. Then from the bushes I heard a man's moans. And there you were. I very carefully brought you here. One of my neighbors a few miles from here is a Doctor. He came and fixed you up. You have been in out of conciseness for three months. I was very scared for you."
"Three months? France? How did you get to France from Pine Valley?" Greenlee interrupted him.
Leo looked at her and then back out to the lake ignoring her questions. "Madame Marie-Louis was a widow. Her husband had left alone to raise a young son." He began.
"Her son had joined the French Army and had been killed. After his death she had moved out to that chateau far away from the world. She could not deal with the pain any more. She treated me so well Greens like I was her own son. She nursed me back to health and never once pushed me to remember anything. I helped her around the house and soon was strong enough to take walks with her.
Every day we would walk through the woods. There were small creeks where we would catch fish. I knew I was a grown man but I felt like was a young boy spending time with my mommy." Leo smiled as he thought back to that time.
"How long were you there for? When did you remember?" Greenlee hated to push him but needed to know what had happened.
"I don't know how much time had passed before I began to call her Maman. I'll never forget the smile on her face when I told her 'je t'aime."
"I love you." Greenlee whispered.
Leo nodded. "She had tears in her eyes Greens. It was like she had her little boy back."
"I'm not sure how long I was there for. A couple of years I suppose. Life was so innocent there that there was no need for a calendar or to count how many times the sun went up or down. Maman had a friend who would deliver food to us and clothing. I soon stopped questing who I was. All that mattered was Maman. One afternoon Maman had to go to town. I'm not sure why she finally decided to go leave me alone. I guess she finally decided I could be trusted.
I was sitting in the living room reading when I noticed something sticking out of the cupboard. Even though I didn't know who I was I knew I had an inquisitive side. I opened the cupboard I had seen every day but never thought to look in. I found this…"
Leo reached into his pocket pulling out his wallet. He walked over to Greenlee sitting next to her. He handed her an old newspaper clipping he had found. She looked down at it and then back up at him shock written all over her face.