The Long And Winding Road
Notes: The usual disclaimers apply, and remember that all episodes that came after "This Charming Man" aren't canon in this story.
Thanks to Maibe Josie, GlamGlitterRockFabulous, chadslover, YellyBelly, BohoChick and spider-man-fan for the interesting and encouraging comments.
Chapter 52 - The Three W's
"Now children, I know this is a big day. The first day of kindergarten can be scary, but it can be really fun, too. Before the end of the year I think we're all going to become very good friends. To help us do that, this morning I'm going to put you all into groups of four. You'll each have others to work closely with and make friends with right from the start."
"Emma?" Manny looked over at her friend while pulling into Memorial Hospital's parking lot. Emma didn't respond, as she was deep in thought.
"And lastly, since we have 19 kids in this class, one group will have to have only three people. So I'd like for Emma, Manuela and James to…James, we don't put crayons up our noses here. Emma, please don't laugh. It's best that we not encourage such behavior. Now as I was saying, the three of you will be a group. All right, everyone will break into their groups soon and have a chance to meet and get to know each other. But first, I'd like to talk about…"
"Emma," Manny repeated while parking the car.
This time Manny's voice broke through and Emma turned her head toward her friend.
"Did you say something?" Emma asked.
"We're here."
Emma looked out her side window.
"I didn't even realize. Sorry."
"You looked like you were a million miles away," Manny said gently.
"I was just thinking about the first time I ever saw JT. Actually it was the first time for all three of us to meet. Remember that day? It was in Ms. Hendricks' class."
Manny smiled.
"I remember."
"Now I'm probably embellishing the memory," Emma noted. "At least as far as what exactly the teacher was saying. But I definitely remember that she was the one who first put the three of us together. And I remember how JT made me laugh. Before we'd even said Hello for the first time, he made me laugh."
Emma then opened her door and got out of the car. Manny followed suit and was about to start walking when she noticed that Emma remained standing beside the vehicle.
"And ever since that first morning," Emma continued, "I don't think there's been even 10 full days where JT and I didn't see each other. Talk to each other. Even if in some cases it was only for a few minutes."
Emma could feel tears start to well up in her eyes. Tears Emma had been struggling to suppress in the time since Manny broke the news about the assault. Tears which she was determined to contain.
"Manny, I've known JT…cared about him in one way or another…almost my entire life. I…I…"
Manny saw the growing look of despair on Emma's face and knew she needed to say something to try to lift Emma's spirits.
"And you've still got a good 60 or 70 more years to go, Em. At least that much. Probably more. This is just one very bad night."
Emma gave a slight smile in response.
"I know that you're right," Emma offered. "I've got to stay optimistic."
"Exactly," Manny agreed.
Emma then wiped away the growing tears, not giving them a chance to descend from her eyes.
"Hey, for all we know, the doctors are already done and JT's in there joking around with the nurses even as we speak. Don't you think so, Manny?"
"It's…possible," Manny answered, though she knew this was being too optimistic. "But right now the main thing is for you to hang on to that positive attitude."
"I'm going to be strong," Emma stated, trying to sound firm even though her tone betrayed a continued feeling of panic. "Whatever I need to do, I'm going to help him."
Determined, Emma walked quickly toward the emergency room entrance with Manny hurrying to keep up. As they got closer, the automatic doors opened and the two walked on in. Emma wasted no time as she walked right up to the front desk.
"Excuse me," Emma spoke to the woman standing behind the desk staring at a computer screen. "I'm looking for JT Yorke. I believe he was brought in within the last few minutes."
The woman proceeded to search the most recent papers lying on her desk.
"Yes, the multiple stab wounds case."
"JT's not a case, he's a person," Emma brusquely corrected.
"Em, I'm sure she didn't mean anything by it," Manny said. She wanted to keep Emma out of an argumentative situation, though she was also somewhat glad to see Emma had retained some of her fighting spirit in this difficult time.
"How is he?" Emma asked.
"Are you a relative?" the woman questioned.
"JT doesn't really have…What I mean to say is…You see…He's mine."
"It's all right," the woman said. "The doctors are currently treating Mr. Yorke. It may take awhile."
"I'd like to see him."
"I'm sorry, but that's not possible right now. Why don't you have a seat in the waiting area? We'll let you know as soon as there's any news."
"Thank you," Emma responded, disappointed.
She then turned to Manny.
"I just wanted JT to know that I'm here," Emma explained, almost pleading. "I wasn't going to get in anybody's way."
"I know," Manny said. "I'm sure they'll be done soon. You'll be with JT in no time."
Emma noticed that there was a waiting room off to their left. She pointed it out to Manny and the two walked in that direction. When they approached the door, however, they could see Sean standing inside speaking to a uniformed officer.
"We can come back later," Manny said to the man after she and Emma were spotted.
"That's all right," the officer told her. "We were about done here."
He then turned back toward Sean.
"Thanks for your help, Mr. Cameron."
"No problem," Sean said.
"I'll be in touch."
The officer then left, after which Emma and Manny entered the room.
"How's JT?" Emma immediately asked Sean. "That woman out front didn't have anything to tell me. But you were with him. Tell me what's been going on."
"I'm not going to lie to you, Emma," Sean answered. "That ambulance ride scared the hell out of me."
"Sean, tell me everything."
"JT was laying there," Sean recalled. "They were worried about him losing all that blood. He was in and out the whole time."
"You mean he…he…stopped breathing?"
"No," Sean quickly replied, not wanting to send Emma into further distress. "If that had happened, I'm sure they'd have done something more about it. But he was awake for awhile then he'd lose consciousness. It was back and forth like that all the way here. I tried talking to him, trying to get him to stay awake. I don't know if he even heard me. He looked at me, but he seemed really out of it. Like he wasn't really seeing me. Look, I can't really say what it was, just what it looked like."
"I know. I'm just so glad you were there with him, Sean."
"You know he's going to be fine, right?" he tried to assure her.
Emma nodded.
"How did it go talking to the police?" Manny then asked Sean.
"I gave the guy the basics," Sean answered. "Told him about what Jay said to us back at the house. Gave him an idea what Jay's all about. I don't think it's going to be too hard for them to find him. Jay's good at taking things, but not so good about staying quiet. The way he was acting around us before, I don't think he's even bothering to hide what he did.
"Anyway, the cop said that once they find Jay, they can take him in for questioning. But they're still going to need a statement from JT when he's able. WE know it wouldn't be anybody else but Jay, but JT's the only one who can tell the police for sure that it was Jay that hurt him."
Emma slowly eased into a chair.
"They're going to get the guy, Emma," Sean said. "He won't get away with what he did."
"Yeah," Emma replied half-hearted.
"What is it?" Manny asked.
"Look, all of that is good to know," Emma explained. "I just…I know I should probably be interested in knowing every detail about the police investigation. But right at this moment, I couldn't care less about what's happening with finding Jay or questioning Jay or anything having to do with Jay. Right now the ONLY thing that really matters is what's going on in that nearby room. I can't think about anything else until I know for certain that JT is all right."
"And that's all you need to think about," Manny said. "Let the police handle Jay."
"I just feel so helpless right now," Emma admitted. "The waiting. Wondering. Not knowing anything. You know that I would do just about anything for him."
Emma had to pause for a moment, emotion making it difficult to speak.
"And yet," she soon continued, "all I CAN do for him right now is sit and wait."
Manny sat down in the chair beside Emma and put an arm around Emma's shoulders while Sean remained standing nearby.
"Sean," Emma soon spoke up, an idea having formed in her mind, "wasn't there any hospital paperwork that needed to be done?"
"Yeah," he answered. "I filled out a couple of forms. I did what I could. I'm sure you know a lot more – things like insurance information. So if you want to get the forms back you can fill in some of the parts I left blank."
"I'll do that. In a minute. Thanks."
After a few more moments of silence, Sean walked toward the open door.
"I'll be back in a few," he told them.
"Where are…"
"I won't be gone for long," he interrupted before Manny could finish.
Manny watched as Sean left the room then noticed that Emma wasn't paying any attention. Instead Emma sat in silence, wringing her hands.
"I hope you're not thinking the worst, Emma."
"No. I'm trying to have only good thoughts."
"Good," Manny said. "We both know that JT wouldn't like the idea of you focusing on worst-case situations."
"That's true. You know, I should probably make some phone calls."
"Your folks? That's a good idea, Em."
"They're spending the evening at Joey and Caitlin's, but they'd want to know about this right away. You know they care a lot about JT, and he feels the same way about them. I also think I should call Liberty. She's such a good friend to both of us; I wouldn't want her to hear about this tomorrow and think we didn't care enough to tell her sooner. So I'll make those calls. After that, I'll take care of the paperwork. And after that…maybe we'll know something."
Emma took the cell phone out of her purse. She then punched in the number to the Jeremiah household and waited for someone to pick up.
"Hello?" a girl's voice answered.
"Angela…Hi. It's Emma."
"Hi," Angela said cheerily.
"Could you put my mom on the phone."
"Sure. Are you okay, Emma? You sound sad."
"Don't worry. I just need to talk to her."
"Okay. Hold on."
Emma waited for a moment while Manny looked on.
"Emma?" her mother's voice suddenly came through.
"Mom…I'm at the hospital."
"Are you all right?" Spike asked, her tone filled with worry and concern. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine. It's JT."
"What happened?"
For a moment, Emma had trouble bringing herself to say anything in response. Manny noticed and pointed to the phone and then to herself, non-verbally offering to explain things to Spike. Emma, however, took a deep breath, shook her head in response to Manny and began to speak.
"Mom, JT was…stabbed…at work," Emma explained in a soft voice that her mother could only barely hear. "Then he was brought in here. I only got here a few minutes ago. They haven't told me how he's doing."
"Oh Emma. That's horrible. Are you waiting there by yourself?"
"No," Emma replied, now regaining more of her voice. "Me and Manny and Sean…we're waiting while the doctors are busy taking care of JT. Only I haven't gotten to see him yet."
"You will," Spike told her. "You just have to let the doctors and nurses do what they need to do. Afterward, there'll be plenty of time for you to see him."
"I know. That is, in my head I know. In my heart…not so much."
"Tell me which hospital you're at. I'll grab Archie and we'll be there in a few minutes."
"There's no need for you to hurry," Emma said. "We're not going anywhere anytime soon. At least finish eating dinner."
"No. Our place is there. I know Caitlin and Joey won't mind if Jack stays here with them for awhile."
That comment prompted a new concern for Emma.
"Mom, don't tell Jack what's going on. He's so young. He wouldn't be able to understand how someone could intentionally hurt JT. What am I saying? I can't understand it either."
"Don't worry about Jack. I'd also tell you not to worry about JT either because I know he's going to be all right, but I know it's impossible NOT to worry at a time like this."
Emma then told her mother which hospital they were in and where to find her.
"I wish there was more that I could say right now, Em. Some ideal words of comfort. Just remember that I love you both."
"I know," Emma said, struggling to keep her voice above a whisper. "JT knows it, too."
"We'll see you soon," Spike said before hanging up.
"Manny," Emma then began after the phone call ended, "would you call Liberty? I want to go back up to the desk for that paperwork. Maybe see if I can find out anything new."
"Of course," Manny replied. She could tell that the paperwork was merely an excuse and that Emma didn't feel up to talking anymore right now. "Just give me a number for her."
Meanwhile, Liberty and Patrick were sitting in chairs out in his backyard. Close by was an outdoor barbecue grill warming up.
"Are you more relaxed yet?" Patrick asked her.
"Moreso than when I arrived a few minutes ago. It's nice out here. A great improvement over dealing with that horrible traffic on the way back from the airport."
"At least your parents' flight took off on time. How long did you say they were going to be gone?"
"One week," she answered. "They've both been working extremely hard and wanted to get away for several days."
"That's understandable. It's been nice for me just to have today free. I didn't have to work at the theater tonight, and my folks didn't need me to help out at the restaurant."
"It's certainly nice having the full evening to ourselves," she commented.
"I'm glad you think so, Liberty. Glad you're happy. With tonight AND with us."
"Of course I am."
"I know," Patrick said. "It's just that I wasn't always so sure. But all that changed since that fight we had a couple of weeks ago before graduation. Things have been great ever since."
"An unnecessary argument to be certain," Liberty interjected, "but at least you finally seemed to realize that my longtime friendship with JT isn't an obstacle in our relationship, so there's no need for you to feel threatened. Both of you are important to me in different ways. I've liked you for awhile now, and it's been even easier to like you since you've become more understanding."
"But will you still like me once you've tasted the hamburgers I'm about to make?" he teased. "My cooking isn't exactly up to my parents' level."
"Be that as it may, I'm looking forward to it, Pat."
"Wait," he said, a look of surprise now on his face. "What did you just call me?"
"Your name. Weren't you listening?"
"I know. It's just that you've always called me Patrick. This is, I think, the first time you've ever called me Pat."
"Perhaps I'm getting less formal in my old age?" Liberty joked.
"Next thing you know, you won't mind if I call you Lib."
"Don't push it."
Patrick stood up.
"I think it's time I went in and got the hamburger meat, bring it out and put it on the grill. Want me to get you something to drink while I'm inside?"
"No thanks," she answered. "I'll wait until we're ready to eat."
"Okay. Be back in a minute."
Patrick bent down and kissed the still-seated Liberty and then went into the kitchen, closing the back door behind him. He grabbed the plate with the uncooked hamburger patties, but before he could go back outside he heard the sound of a phone ringing. He knew by the ring tone that it wasn't the house phone. Nor was it his cell. He then realized it had to be Liberty's cell. It was just inside her purse, which was sitting on the kitchen table.
Patrick believed that by the time he could get the cell and take it out to Liberty, the person calling would have already hung up. Thus, he walked over to the table, pulled out the phone and answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Um…Maybe I have the wrong number," the voice answered.
"Hold on. Is this Manny?"
"Yeah," she replied.
"It's Patrick Ryan."
"Oh. Hey."
"Liberty's here at my place, but she's outside right now."
"Maybe it's just as well you answered," Manny said. "It would probably be easier on her to hear this from her boyfriend in person rather than from me over the phone."
"Hear what?"
Patrick was stunned as he listened to Manny relate what happened to JT.
"Is he going to be all right?"
"I've told you everything we know so far," she replied. "Right now, we're just sitting here dealing with the Three W's."
"What's that?"
"Waiting, Wondering and Worrying."
"How's Emma doing?" he then asked.
"Managing. As best she can, all things considered. Anyway, we knew Liberty would want to know right away. I hope you two didn't have anything big planned for tonight."
"What do you mean?"
"Like tickets to a show, or reservations to a fancy restaurant."
"We weren't doing anything like that, Manny. But still, it's not like she's a doctor. There's nothing Liberty can do for JT right now. I'm concerned about him, too, but…"
"Trust me, Patrick," Manny interrupted. "I know Liberty will want to come straight here and wait for news with the rest of us. She's tough, but this is going to hit her very hard. It'll help that we're all here waiting together."
"I'd better let you go, Manny."
"Good, we'll see the two of you here soon."
After Manny's last comment, Patrick ended the call without saying another word and then returned the phone to Liberty's purse. Next, he opened the back door. Upon hearing the door, Liberty turned her head around and saw him standing just inside the house. She smiled at him. He hesitated for a moment and then smiled to her in return. He walked back over to the kitchen counter, grabbed the plate of meat and walked outside.
"I was starting to wonder what was keeping you," Liberty said.
"Sorry," he responded. "The phone rang."
"That explains it. Even with the door closed I thought I could hear what sounded like a phone."
"It…It was your phone actually, Liberty."
"Really?"
"Hope you don't mind me answering. I didn't want whoever it was to hang up and I figured…"
"No, that's quite all right. Thanks Pat. Who was it?"
"Manny," Patrick replied, looking uneasy. "Manny Santos."
"Manny?" Liberty was surprised. "That's odd."
"Why's that?"
"Don't get me wrong. She and I get along, at least more now than we once did. Having Emma and JT as mutual friends, we've found that it's much easier on everyone - including each other - to peacefully coexist, considering there are numerous occasions when we're all together. Or when Emma has us both over for a Girls Night. Still, I wouldn't classify us as friends. We don't really talk much outside of such group activities. What did she say? Am I supposed to call her back?"
Patrick started placing the food on the grill, his back now to Liberty.
"No," he answered. "She didn't say anything about returning her call. She…was just checking in. Seeing how you were doing."
"Oh?"
"Surprised me, too," Patrick said, now committed to his deception. "But like you said, the two of you are on somewhat friendlier terms these days."
"Maybe I should give her a call."
"I wouldn't worry about it," Patrick quickly advised. "Anyway, I told her you were over here, so she's not expecting a call back."
"All right. If you say so."
Patrick turned back around, once more facing Liberty.
"Pat, is something the matter? You suddenly look so troubled."
"Troubled? Me?" He hesitated, but continued. "Okay…truthfully, there IS something I want to talk to you about."
"Now you've piqued my curiosity. What is it?"
Patrick looked at his girlfriend. He knew that Liberty should know what he had just found out. He also knew that he and Liberty were now at a good place in their relationship, and he wasn't ready for what he knew would result.
Patrick knew Liberty's feelings for JT weren't romantic, but they were still strong feelings. He wasn't yet ready to have her turn her focus away from him and onto JT and this new predicament. Later, after an enjoyable evening together, it would be okay to break it to her. But not now.
"Oh, it's nothing that can't wait until AFTER we've had a nice meal together, Liberty. Just the two of us. No distractions. I think the meat will be ready in a few minutes."
"Pat, are you sure it wouldn't make you feel better to talk about it now, while we're waiting?"
"It'll keep. We're here. Together. Happier than ever. Nothing could make me feel better than this. Anything else can wait awhile."
Later on back at the hospital, Emma returned to the waiting area.
"I did what I could with the paperwork," Emma told Manny. "No news yet. Or at least nothing they're willing to share. Did you reach her?"
"Patrick answered," Manny informed her. "I let him know what was going on."
"Good," Emma responded as she sat back down beside Manny. "Liberty's probably going to need to lean on him at a time like this."
"Em, you didn't happen to see Sean out there, did you?"
"No. Didn't he go to the restroom or something?"
"He didn't say where he was going. I thought that's where he was headed, but he's been gone for awhile."
"I'm sure he'll turn up sooner or later."
They then sat in silence, continuing to wait. Soon, Emma once more looked at her watch. Then she looked at Manny.
"Maybe I should go back out there. Who knows when they'd bother coming in here to tell me anything, even if there IS some news. Honestly, with all the millions of dollars in state-of-the-art medical equipment, you wouldn't think it would take this long to fix…to repair…to…"
Emma stopped. She realized that under ordinary circumstances, it wouldn't be long before JT would most likely interrupt one of her diatribes to insert some humor into the situation and encourage her to take a breath and relax.
"Never mind," Emma then said. "I should probably be glad about the wait. It means they're taking their time to do things right."
Manny nodded her head in agreement.
"Don't mind me, Manny. Even on my best days, patience isn't one of my stronger traits."
"Would you like me to head over to the hospital cafeteria and get you something?" Manny then asked."I'm sure it's still open, and we haven't eaten anything tonight."
"No. I'm not hungry. Besides, right now I don't know that I'd be able to keep anything down even if I tried to eat something. But thanks for the offer. If you're hungry, don't let me stop you."
"I don't have much of an appetite either."
Emma again looked at her watch, while memories of that first day once more filled her mind.
"Hi! I'm Emma Nelson," the little blonde girl greeted after the teacher started to put the students in their groups and before young Manuela had joined the pair.
"I'm James Yorke."
"The crayon thing…Gross."
"And funny?"
Emma smiled.
"And funny," she confirmed, clearly pleasing the boy.
"Thanks."
"Wanna be friends, James?"
"Okay. Friends."