Becky, Mark, Darlene, and Jackie, who was holding Jerry, arrived at the hospital to find D.J. sitting in the waiting room. Jackie wanted to know why he wasn't with his dad.
"The doctor had to leave. But he said he'd try to find someone to stay in the room so we could see dad." D.J. said rubbing Jerry's little hand to show his brother he loved him.
Becky looked in the window and saw her dad eating the Snickers and felt happy. Her dad seemed to be back to himself.
Jackie, handed Jerry to Becky and then started to walk away from the group. "I'm going to see what I can find out about your mom. We really need to start…making plans." Like everyone else in the family Jackie was forcing herself to bury her sadness and be strong for everyone else. It was taking every ounce of energy she had to not drive to the LOBO Lounge and get so drunk on tequila that she forgot her sister died. She didn't because she knew that with her mom thrown out of the house, and Dan unable to come home yet, and a baby to take care of, she couldn't be a nervous wreck like when her dad died. All her life she acted like the way she acted because Roseanne was there to let her.
It wasn't until Dan told her that he loved her that Jackie realized she was going to have to grow up real quick and learn to live without Roseanne. The minute that Jackie figured that out she decided that the best way to get through this was to go all the way as the strongest person in the family. So Jackie walked to the help desk.
"Excuse me my sister passed away yesterday and I want to know what I should do to make arrangements for the funeral." Jackie said, as strongly as she could.
"You'll have to talk to the coroner about that. Go to the basement, his office is right to the left of the elevator. If he's not in there's a switch on the wall. Flip it and wait a minute. He'll be there as soon as possible."
Jackie shook her head then went to the elevator and rode it to the basement. She went into the coroner's office and found him filling out paper work at his desk.
"Excuse me doctor?" she said, as the older man wearing thick glasses looked up at her.
"Hello. Is there something I can do?" The coroner asked.
"Yes. Um my sister passed away last night and I wanted to talk to you about making arrangements for the funeral."
The coroner had a sullen look and he became very sympathetic. "Oh yes I am sorry for your loss. Can I have you're sisters name please?"
"Roseanne Harris Conner." As Jackie said this the coroner's expression changed.
"Um I'm sorry but someone else has taken care of the arrangements."
Jackie became immediately confused and worried.
"Who?" She asked, already imagining the subject.
The coroner looked at a paper on his desk. "A Misses Beverly Harris?"
Jackie was not surprised at all surprised by this. She began to feel emotional again, but prevented it to show.
"May I know what arrangements she made?"
The coroner looked at the paper again. "Miss Harris was going to make arrangements with Sorrow Heart funeral home and then have me send Misses Conner's body there on Friday,"
"Thank you doctor that sounds good. May I see my sister please?"
The coroner nodded and Jackie followed him through autopsy. The coroner pulled open a door to the cooler and pulled the slab out. Roseanne's body was covered with a white sheet. Taking a deep breath Jackie asked to her face and the coroner pulled the sheet down.
Roseanne's eyes were closed, and she was badly bruised, but Jackie could definitely tell this dead person was her sister. Somehow Jackie felt there was a chance that Roseanne wasn't really dead, but that was just blind hope. Jackie chose to see Roseanne so that she could make peace with herself and move on, which is exactly what she did.
"Roseanne, you were the best sister anyone could have. You always tried to make my life better, even when it annoyed me. You were also the best mom that D.J. Becky, Darlene, and Jerry could have even though that annoyed them. I will be the first to admit that I've wondered to myself why Dan married you, and why you married Dan but I realize you two married out of love, and I hope that if I ever decide to remarry I hope to be able to copy you're marriage because I know it was a good one, even when Dan was sleeping on the couch. I have had many bad relationships and you knew me enough to know it was because of dad, so you were always trying to help me get close to guys and I want to thank you for that. I also want thank you for getting me out of that relationship with Fisher. I promise I will help Dan out with the boys and try to repair my relationship with mom…if I don't end up killing her first." Jackie spoke quickly but got out everything she wanted to say, and it made her feel like her life could go on now and that is what she needed.
When Jackie returned to the second floor she found everyone visiting Dan in his room. Dan was holding Jerry up on the bed between his knees and playing with him. Dan looked happy even with a big African American orderly standing near the bed away from the crowd watching Dan's every move.
"He's a big strong Conner man. You're gonna be a quarterback for the Chicago Bears, Jerry, yes you are…" Dan said in the way he talks to babies.
Darlene looked at D.J. "He used to say that to you…" Darlene was making fun of D.J. which meant that things were getting somewhat back to normal.
D.J. sneered back at D.J. "He's said that to Little Ed and Andy."
"Andy isn't a Conner."
"No with Andy he said "You're gonna make you uncle proud and become a quarterback for the Chicago Bears, Andy, yes you are…"
"Typical." Darlene said.
Mark noticed the Harley bear. "Hey Dan, who got you that?"
It took a minute for Dan to realize Mark was talking to him and when he did he answered; "Oh that? Chuck came by earlier and gave it to me. He said it reminded Anne Marie of me. Go figure." Dan was joking, while also watching the clock. It was 11:20 so he knew he only had forty minutes before he was transferred.
The doctor came back, and the orderly left.
"He looks a lot like you, Mr. Conner." The doctor said, as Darlene picked up her brother.
"Yeah, he eats like me too." Dan's eyes shifted from the clock to the doctor and then to each of his kids. His kids took his hint and left the room. Jackie tried to follow but Dan asked her to stay. When the door closed and Jackie and the doctor were alone with Dan again, Dan said; "He's moving me to the psychiatric ward. If I can go until tomorrow without throwing trays at the wall, I can go home tomorrow night. If a psychiatrist clears me." Dan said looking the doctor in his eyes.
The doctor interjected with "I'm sure you'll go home tomorrow." He said, gently hitting Dan on his leg.
"That makes me feel good." Dan said, honestly.
Jackie was happy that Dan was feeling happy and coping well even if it was because of medication, but she had to tell him about her mom.
"I visited with the coroner, and he said that mom had already made arrangements with a funeral home."
Dan went quiet again. "What?"
Jackie went quiet again too but spoke again when she found the right way to tell Dan that they kicked Bev out of the house. "She could have done that because me and the girls sort of…kicked her out of your house last night."
A smile appeared on Dan's face. "Kicked her out? Bev? Oh man I wish I could've been there. Did she cry?" Dan was really excited.
"Practically. She didn't seem bothered by Roseanne's passing and she might've said some things." Jackie tried beating around the bush, and Dan didn't notice.
"That is amazing. The woman doesn't even care that her daughter was killed in a car accident. Man that really pisses me off…" Dan could feel the anger welling up in inside him, and he realized it was starting to show in front of his doctor and took deep breaths and calmed himself down.
The doctor realized the time and spoke to Dan. "I think now would be a good time to get dressed."
Dan shook his head as Jackie handed him Darlene's backpack which had Dan's clothes folded inside it. Dan took the backpack and stood up and hugged Jackie. In her ear he whispered; "Can't get Jerry to sleep? I've found that Puff the Magic Dragon helps."
Jackie chuckled and left the room. Dan took the clothes into the small bathroom by the door and changed while the doctor stood near the door with his back to the wall to give Dan privacy.
When Dan came out he wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and his Chicago Bulls hoodie. The doctor was surprised to see that Dan was wearing Nike Tennis shoes with the laces missing.
The doctor gave Dan a strange look. "Oh they took my laces went I went to jail so I figured it would happen again. This way I give up my belt and shoe laces with dignity." Dan handed his doctor the laces and the doctor pocketed them in his lab coat.
