A/N Some spoilers for 707. I don't know anything that wasn't in promos or sneak peeks, so I can't spoil much, but I'm tagging this just in case.

After the Vows

Jim Beckett's Journal

Chapter 4

Dear Johanna,

I had a dream about you. You came and told me what you always used to say, that we're never given more than we can handle. Maybe it happened because I wanted so much for it to, or maybe you really were sending me a sign. I would like to believe that you were with me. In any case, I heard today that Joe Pulgatti is dead. The doctor at the prison thought it was natural causes, but there hasn't been a formal autopsy. Through connections from both Rick and Lanie, the autopsy will be performed by Clark Murray, whom Rick affectionately refers to as Doctor Death. I'm told that Murray is the best forensic pathologist in the city. In fact Murray is the one Rick used to uncover clues about your death that had been previously missed. If if it turns out that Pulgatti's passing was not from some sort of foul play, then I suppose I've dodged an ethical bullet. If not, there will be an investigation and I don't know if that will affect anything I do or not. It really seems strange to say it, but I'm hoping the man had a heart attack.

In the meantime, I'm going full bore on my class action suit. There are a couple of women I'm concentrating on. The first is Judy Bomer. She is retirement age now and worked for the company her entire life. She is single and always has been, and childless. Over the years she garnered multiple awards for her work including several citations as employee of the year. Her evaluations are a matter of record and have always been excellent. Despite that, she always got the minimal raises for someone at her achievement level. Were that not bad enough, men she trained and worked with were consistently promoted above her. She ended her career working for one of them. Dearest, I can almost see the smoke coming out of your ears. Rest assured, I will fight for her.

The second woman, Maria Gonzales, is an even more interesting case. She is married and has twin boys, Jose and Jorge. She also has a stay-at -home husband, very aptly named Angel. Angel is a freelance journalist for a number of publications and has been able to adjust his schedule to take care of the boys. The family has received medical coverage and other benefits through Maria's job. The situation has worked. Maria has never missed a day of work or even a meeting. Her evaluations have been exemplary. Despite that, several promotions that her record would indicate she deserved, went to men. I will also mention, although I'm not sure if there is actually any relevance or not, that they were white men.

We have hundreds of cases at company facilities all over the country. Many of them are not nearly as overt as these, but there is no doubt that promotion was on the basis of gender, not merit. This is a windmill at which I am most grateful to tilt.

Now, on to the kids. They have been working on a poisoning case. I don't know any of the details, but somehow the case leads to a dude ranch out west. The kids are going undercover to investigate. Rick has grabbed on to the idea of western costume play with both hands. He is such a kid at heart, it really is just his kind of thing, although I think he'd rather be a space cowboy than an earthbound one. Katie is a bit more reticent. Captain Gates has made it clear that Katie has no more days off coming, so Rick is hoping to turn the working trip into some semblance of a honeymoon. Katie is not sure. You know our little girl. When she puts her mind to solving a problem, not much can get in her way.

Katie and Rick will be away for a while, at least a week. Alexis is a little antsy about that. She is still having problems letting go of Rick, especially now that our Pulgatti project is on hold. Martha is so involved in her new play, she really doesn't have time to intervene. I'll be consulting with some of the professors at the law school at Columbia, so when I'm in the neighborhood, Alexis and I may meet for lunch or dinner. I'm not sure if that will help or not. She really needs more than an old man to distract her.

I've been quietly using some of my contacts from AA to look into PTSD support groups, especially those for young people. So far the groups I've found, understandably so, seem mostly aimed at veterans. That is not really appropriate for Alexis. She has survived both her own kidnapping and that of her father, but that was not much like getting blown up by an IED. I'm continuing to look. The larger chore, if I find something useful, will be to convince her to go.

In many ways Alexis is like Katie. She thinks she can handle everything on her own and tries to do so, even to her own detriment. Since they do think so much alike, if anyone can reach her, it may be Katie. I may have a word with Katie about that when she and Rick come back. She has always been loathe to interfere in Rick's relationship with Alexis, but now that she is Alexis' stepmother - oh how strange that sounds - their lives are inextricably intertwined. Also, Katie is hardly without her own experience with PTSD. After she was shot, she had some very difficult times. She worked some of her issues out with a therapist, but endured a lot of pain nonetheless. A therapist would not be a bad idea for Alexis either, but I don't think it's my place to suggest that. Katie might be able to, out of her own experience. In any case, I think a heart to heart talk might do both Katie and Alexis a world of good.

I have a meeting of my own to attend. With all that has been happening lately, I've been finding it difficult to fit them in, but I know that I must. With so much to look forward to with the kids and so much good work to do, the last thing I want to do now is chance falling off the wagon. Except for your absence in them, there should be some really good days ahead.

Forever love,

JB