The Long And Winding Road
Note: The usual disclaimers apply, and remember that all episodes that came after "This Charming Man" aren't canon in this story.
Chapter 55 - Brand New Day
Around 6:30 Thursday morning, Spinner stood just outside the door to JT's hospital room. Though the door was shut, he could hear the sound of a TV so he opened the door. The room light was off but he could see JT lying in bed, awake.
From his bed, JT noticed his door was now open, but he couldn't see who was standing at the doorway. This made him nervous.
"Who's there?" he asked hesitantly.
"Spin."
JT breathed a sigh of relief.
"Come on in," JT instructed. "You can turn on the light."
"I was getting a drink of water," Spinner said as he entered the room, shutting the door behind him. "And when I was walking back I thought I heard some voices in here."
"I couldn't sleep anymore," JT explained.
"Because of the pain? Need me to find a doctor or something?"
"No, I'm fine. Well, as fine as I can be considering I'm in a hospital bed. The pain's there, but not too bad right now. Thank God for whoever invented the painkillers the doctors are giving me. Anyway, at the moment I feel worn out, but not sleepy."
Spinner sat down in the chair beside the bed.
"So I thought I'd try some TV," JT continued.
"Anything good on?" Spinner asked, looking over at the television hanging up on the wall opposite the bed.
"Looks like the only thing worse than prime-time programming is early-morning programming," JT answered. "Right now it's all infomercials or reruns of old sitcoms that weren't funny the first time."
"They still have the infomercial for that vacuum-like thing that was supposed to cut hair?" Spinner questioned. "My mom bought one of those a few years ago. Her hair never did grow back right."
"No, but this one on now is for a knife that they say is sharp enough to chop vegetables AND cut through a tennis ball. Who would ever want something like that?"
Spinner laughed, but then he noticed that JT had turned his full attention to the program. JT's right hand was now clinging tightly to the remote as he watched the man on the screen waving a knife around and talking about the sharpness of the blade. Figuring that the television image was making JT think about the assault, Spinner quickly reached over and pressed the 'Off' button on the remote control.
"Um…yeah, you're right, JT. There's too much crap on TV. No point watching it when you're already feeling rotten enough as it is."
At first JT didn't say anything. Then, as though it finally registered that the set was off, he slowly turned his head toward Spinner.
"You say something?" JT asked quietly.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, Spin. It's just…for a minute…I stopped seeing the real guy and…"
"That wasn't Jay," Spinner assured. "Just some loser hosting a stupid infomercial for something nobody's gonna want."
"I just wish I could stop thinking about it," JT remarked. "About him."
"Hey, give it time. It's only been a few hours. You know what they say – Nome wasn't built in a day."
"That would be Rome that wasn't built in a day, Spinner. As in Italy. Not Nome, Alaska."
"Oh. Okay, but I'll bet you five bucks Nome, Alaska wasn't built in a day either."
JT started to laugh, but quickly stopped himself.
"Right now it even hurts to laugh," JT remarked. "And for me, that's going to get real annoying."
"Okay then. So no bad TV and no joking around. What now?"
"Emma told me all you did tonight, Spin. Or I guess now it was LAST night."
"Uh-oh. What did I do wrong?"
"No. She helped me put the pieces together of everything that went on. You getting help. Taking care of everything there."
"Oh, that," Spinner said, wanting to downplay his role. "No a big deal. You know I'll do anything to make Employee of the Month."
"We don't have an Employee of the Month thing, Spin."
"Yeah. Well…don't give me much credit. I was all over the place trying to figure out the best way to take care of things. Hoping I wasn't making it all worse. You know making stuff worse is what I do best. And if you didn't know, just ask all my ex-bosses. Or Paige."
"What I know is…if you hadn't found me, and done everything you did, I wouldn't be around to…"
JT couldn't finish his sentence, but Spinner understood what he was getting at.
"You know, JT," Spinner started, hoping to lighten the mood, "things were a lot easier back when the toughest thing we had to do was try to top each other with the practical jokes."
He saw that JT had finally let go of the remote control and was much more at ease.
"Listen," Spinner continued, "if you're too tired just tell me to shut up, but there's some business stuff you should know about."
"It's okay," JT replied. "What's up?"
"I told customers to come back Friday to make up for missing the rest of what they were watching. I figured that's how you'd want it handled. They were cool about it."
"Good thinking."
"As for the staff, everyone's figuring we're not opening up today. Unless you think…"
"No, that's fine. But for today, there's some things I need you to take care of."
About two hours later, Emma was sitting alone in the waiting room busily talking on her phone.
"Yeah, Mom, I just left him a few minutes ago. JT's looking a little better this morning. At least he's got more of the color back in his face. He's not nearly as pale as he was last night. I got some rest…or as much rest as a person can get under these circumstances and sitting in these less-than-comfortable chairs. We weren't really taking it in shifts, but it ended up where at least one of the five of us was awake throughout the night in case there was any change.
"I think Spinner went home sometime earlier this morning while I was asleep. I don't know for sure. The others went down for breakfast while I was in with JT. No, I'm going to eat. Don't worry. They said they'd bring me back some food from the cafeteria. And now that JT made it through the night okay, I think I'll have enough of an appetite to finally eat something. Manny's going to drop me off at the house a little later so I can shower and change clothes."
Just then, Ellie appeared in the doorway. Dressed in her usual darkly colored attire, one thing was different. Around her left wrist was a band. It had been ages since Ellie had last worn one, but after what she had learned minutes earlier, she searched her purse while on her way to the hospital and found an old one to put on. While so far she hadn't snapped it against her skin, she wanted to have it on just in case the stress became too much.
Ellie's presence caught Emma by surprise.
"Mom? I'd better let you go. You'll be able to come by for a visit this afternoon, right? Great. I know JT will be glad to see you. Bye."
Emma ended the call and looked over at Ellie, who walked into the room. Worry filled Ellie's face.
"I just found out JT was here," Ellie said as Emma rose from her chair. "I don't know what to say. And saying 'I don't know what to say' is probably the most useless thing I COULD say. They told me downstairs that he's going to be okay. But 'okay' to them doesn't necessarily mean 'okay' in ordinary language. They also said he's allowed visitors, though. So maybe 'okay' really is 'okay' this time. I'm sure I'm talking too much. I'm not normally like this. Talking so much and yet not really saying anything. It was just so shocking to hear about. One moment you're enjoying a peaceful morning, and the next…Tell me…Is JT going to be okay? Really okay?"
"Yes," Emma replied.
"And they are letting JT have visitors?"
"Yes," Emma again answered.
"Would it be okay if I went in to see him?"
"No."
Meanwhile, miles away from the hospital, Jay was slowly beginning to wake up. He opened his eyes and let out a loud groan.
"What's your problem?" a young woman's voice came from the nearby bathroom.
"Nothing," Jay answered. "Just hurts to open up my eyes, that's all."
"As often as you get wasted," she commented, "I'd think by now your eyes would be used to the morning after."
"Don't get bitchy on me, Ginger," he said, rolling his eyes. "It's too early in the morning. Besides, I didn't see you turning down any drinks at the bar last night."
"Some people can hold their liquor better, Jay. Besides, who cares what you feel like right now? You weren't feeling any pain when we came back here last night and got in that bed."
"Damn straight," he responded proudly. "And what a way to celebrate my success yesterday!"
"What success were we celebrating?" he heard Ginger ask. "Having enough money to keep from getting kicked out of the bar?"
"Wouldn't you like to know," he said, smirking. "Now bring that hot ass of yours back to bed."
"Some of us have to go to work today," she called back to him.
"I do too, but I'm in no hurry," Jay said casually.
"All this time and you never have told me where your job is."
"I work for myself, babe. Call it working in commodities. I find things that are a real steal and sell them at great prices."
"Sounds like you're a regular big shot, Jay. But I still want you dressed by the time I come back in there. You can go back to your place to sleep the morning away."
"Okay, I'll go if I have to. But it's gonna be your loss."
Back at the hospital, Ellie's nervousness turned into anger after hearing Emma's response. While the redhead hadn't expected anything less than an awkward encounter with her, she couldn't believe Emma would try to deny her the opportunity to visit.
"Look," Ellie stated, "I know you and I don't get along. This is a bad situation for JT, and I'm probably about the last person you'd like to see right now. But like it or not, JT and I are good friends. If the doctors think he's well enough to have visitors, then I WILL see him. You aren't in charge here. I was only asking you as a courtesy."
Ellie turned from Emma and started to leave the room, but Emma called out to her.
"The reason you can't see him is because the police are in with him now. They're taking his formal statement about the stabbing."
Now feeling embarrassed, Ellie slowly turned back around toward Emma.
"Oh," she said sheepishly. "See, this is a good reason why I don't normally make big emotional speeches. I should have waited to hear the reason. While I remove the foot from my mouth, I hope you'll forget that little tirade."
"Deal," Emma replied calmly as she sat back down. She then noticed the surprised look on Ellie's face. "Misunderstandings happen. The two of us getting into an argument really would be the stupidest thing either of us could do right now. I don't know how long it'll take in there. But if you've got the time and want to wait here, feel free."
Ellie took a seat two chairs over from Emma.
"I worked late yesterday, so I'm not due at the station until later on," Ellie explained. "But if it turns out JT's too tired after making his statement, I can come back another time."
Emma said nothing in response.
"Stabbed…I can't believe it." Another thought then occurred to Ellie. "Emma, the wounds…there's no infection is there? It's very important to make sure that…"
"Cleaned up. No sign of infection."
"That's good," Ellie said, relieved.
"How did you hear about what happened?" Emma then asked.
"I went over to Ryan's for breakfast this morning," Ellie explained. "There were two girls in the next booth, and I overheard one tell the other how she and a friend missed most of the movie they went to see last night. There had been some sort of situation. An ambulance had been called for the person in charge, and police were there asking everyone questions. I was generally curious, but I didn't know for certain that they were talking about JT and his theater until…"
"Until what?"
"The girl said she hoped he would be all right because he seemed like such a nice guy. Emma, I'm sure you know that sometimes JT will talk to customers after a movie. Ask them what they thought of it and if they had a good time."
"Yes. I've seen him do so a couple of times."
"Well," Ellie continued, "this person explained how a week or so ago she had seen another film there. 'Garden Party' I think was the name."
"JT thought that was a lousy movie," Emma remarked. "But he said it was getting good reviews in the indie press, so he was showing it against his better judgment."
"Apparently, the time this girl was there, JT asked people afterwards as they were exiting into the lobby what they thought. Reactions were mixed, so he confessed that he didn't like it either and offered a deal. He'd refund the money from their tickets, or they could stick around and he'd give them an alternate version of the film."
"An alternate version?" Emma asked.
"From what I heard this girl say, JT basically put on a 15-minute one-man show right there in the lobby, re-enacting several scenes, including the ending. Acting out several characters, but improvising dialogue. Changing it to something he thought would have made for a better film. The customers loved it."
"And he made sure nobody left his theater feeling like they had a rotten time," Emma added. She smiled, imagining JT's impromptu performance for the crowd. "That sounds very much like something he would do."
"That's how I knew that she could only be describing JT as the one who got hurt," Ellie said. "Knowing this was the closest hospital, I called and found out he'd been admitted. So I came right over. Did the awful creature who did this to JT last night get away with much money?"
"This wasn't a robbery gone bad," Emma corrected. "It was very much a personal attack."
Though this now gave Ellie further questions she felt like asking, she decided not to pursue the matter with Emma.
"For the record, Ellie, even though I don't like you – and I'm certain the feeling is entirely mutual – none of that matters at a time like this. Several of JT's good friends have been here. I'm not going to object if you choose to be here, too. I'm supportive of anything and anyone able to keep JT's spirits up. We don't have to approve of one another to agree on that point."
Emma said nothing further. Instead, she sat still and rested her eyes. Ellie also said nothing else, but for once she was in full agreement with Emma.
The two young women had different styles. Different personalities. Different ways of trying to inform the public about important issues. Different beliefs on what those important issues should be. It had never been a surprise to Ellie that they didn't get along. Some people, she felt, are probably always meant to clash in one way or another.
However, on this morning Ellie looked over at Emma. She saw someone who had obviously been at the hospital all night without much – if any – sleep. Someone prepared to be strong but who, at the moment, was looking more vulnerable than Ellie had ever seen her. Someone who was openly putting JT's feelings ahead of her own when it came to dealing with a friend of his that she greatly disliked. Ellie felt like, for the first time, she had seen a glimpse of the woman JT was so often praising.
Ellie still didn't like her. Of this, she was certain. But she agreed with Emma's sentiment that such personal feelings didn't seem to matter at the moment.
As the two sat in silence, Sean and Manny, meanwhile, were sitting at a table downstairs in the cafeteria, having just completed breakfast.
"You really think it was a good idea letting Liberty go to the gift shop alone?" Sean asked.
"What's the problem?" Manny questioned.
"I can just see her walking past all the good stuff in there and zeroing in on stationary."
"Don't worry. I'm sure she'll get balloons, just like we talked about before the three of us put our money together. Anyway, I figured it would be good for her to be the one to go get the gift. Maybe it'll lift her spirits a tiny bit. Think about it…JT got attacked AND her boyfriend – or rather her ex-boyfriend – treated her like crap. All in the same night."
"And what about you?" Sean wondered.
"Me?"
"This whole time, you've been calmer than any of us. Helping keep the rest of us from losing it. I know you can be tough, Manny, but the way you've kept it together…"
"Me, JT and Emma…we've known each other for what seems like forever. I know in the last few years there were a lot of times when I wasn't very good to either one of them."
"That's all in the past," Sean interjected. "They never bring up all that stuff. Neither should you."
"I know. All I'm saying is…at a time when they're dealing with so much, I can be strong enough now that they can count on me. And being able to be there for them, and you – and Liberty, too, for that matter – also helps me in getting through all of this."
"They know you're there for them, Manny. And I know."
"Besides," Manny smiled, "wasn't I right about JT being too stubborn not to survive?"
Sean laughed.
"Yeah, you called it."
"And if JT's doctors and nurses are anything like the ones I've seen up in Pediatrics," she added, "then he's getting great care."
"Pediatrics?"
Manny hadn't expected to make the reference, but quickly realized she felt comfortable sharing a special memory.
"Sean, for awhile after the miscarriage…You see, that was a time when I wasn't on the best of terms with either Emma or JT. Nothing bitter on their part or anything, just…nothing. And Craig was trying to be kind, but I felt guilty about losing the baby. I didn't want to talk to him about the things going on in my head.
"So at least a couple times a week after school, I'd come here. On the fifth floor, there's a window where you can look in and see some of the newborns. Nurses were often checking on them. Sometimes talking to them. I spent a lot of time at that window. I'd look in at all of those little faces and I'd wonder about what my baby would have been like. Boy or girl? Calm or constantly crying? Would he…or she…know how much love I would give, and that despite being so young myself, there's nothing I wouldn't have done for him or her?
"This went on for weeks. Craig and I ended things during that time. Later on, we were able to become just friends. But at the time, I was so busy thinking about 'What if' that he was an unwelcome distraction. Anyway, little by little it got easier to get past the loss. Not to forget, but not to obsess about it. And I didn't need to be at that window anymore.
"I know coming here like that must sound crazy. But I wasn't crazy. At least I don't think so. It was just something I needed to do."
Manny then looked down at her watch and quickly stood up.
"We've been down here for awhile. I'm going to get back in the line and get some stuff for Em. Some of that fruit salad. Maybe a biscuit, too."
"He would have known," Sean spoke up before she could turn away.
"What?" Manny asked, confused.
"Or she would have – if it had been a girl," Sean continued. "Known how much love you'd give, that is. There's no way any kid of yours wouldn't have been able to tell that. And you'll get that chance again someday to prove it. I know it."
Beaming, Manny reached down and kissed Sean. She knew that he really understood her, just like she had come to understand him.
"You're the only one I've ever told about my coming here back then," she then admitted. "Not Craig or JT or Emma or anyone. Only you."
Upstairs, Ellie walked toward JT's room soon after the police had left. Approaching the open door, she looked in and saw him lying in the bed. He had his right hand up covering his eyes. She could tell by the lack of sound that he wasn't crying or having some sort of panic attack. She felt that more than likely he had just simply – and quite understandably – had enough following the police questioning.
Ellie so wanted to step inside that room. She knew she could put a smile on his face and take his mind off his troubles. She knew they could have a nice long talk as they had many times before.
She also knew – being completely honest with herself – that what he needed right then wasn't his friend Ellie Nash. She knew that what JT needed most at that moment was only going to come from the blonde sitting in the nearby room.
Shortly thereafter, Emma was surprised for the second time that morning by Ellie's presence at the waiting room doorway.
"That was quick," Emma commented. "Believe it or not, I wasn't timing you. There was no rush."
"I didn't go in."
"Oh?"
"Thanks for the chance. But right now I don't need to be in there."
Emma grew concerned.
"Did something happen? Is he…?"
"No. It's nothing like that. I…I just know he'll feel a lot more comfortable right now if you're in there with him. I'm sure he'll feel more up to a visit from a friend some other time."
Emma wasn't sure what to make of this.
"Now what I CAN do," Ellie added, "is finish compiling the information JT had asked me about the other day."
"Right," Emma remarked. "He told me he'd asked your help with demographics info regarding commercials. I know he will appreciate whatever help you can give."
"Yeah, well I should get going."
"I'll tell JT you stopped by and that you'll come back soon. Maybe tomorrow?"
"If he feels up to it. I don't want to be in the way."
Emma said nothing, but then reached into her purse in the next seat and pulled out a pen and a piece of scratch paper. She quickly wrote something on the paper, then stood up and offered the paper to Ellie.
"The number to my cell. If you're wondering when would be the best time to visit, feel free to call me. That should help make things easier."
"You're sure you want me to have this?" Ellie asked as she slowly took the paper from Emma.
"I'm sure that you're a concerned friend of JT's. We can return to despising one another in a few days."
Ellie almost smiled but caught herself and instead simply nodded.
As Ellie walked toward the elevators, Emma went to go see JT. At the doorway, she could see that he was now simply staring up at the ceiling.
"JT?" she called to him quietly from the door.
"It's all done," he said plainly. "I answered all the questions. Went over everything that I remember happening last night. Signed some papers. The works."
"Any word on if they found Jay yet?" Emma asked as she walked into the room.
"Just that he hadn't shown up back at his place last night."
"Oh, Ellie Nash stopped by while you were making your statement."
"You two were in the same room? Good thing we're in a hospital."
"Fear not, my love," she said, rolling her eyes as she took her seat beside his bed. "We kept things peaceful. Purely a temporary peace, but it seemed like the right thing to do. She'll come back again tomorrow when there's time for a real visit."
"That's nice. I'm sorry I didn't get to say Hello, but it's just as well. Right now, I…"
"What is it?" Emma asked, noticing how troubled he looked.
JT reached out his right hand in her direction, and she gladly took hold of it.
"Tell me that I'm going to feel like myself again," he requested. "That this pain is going to go away. That I'll stop feeling afraid every time I hear footsteps outside my room. Then maybe I'll feel like everything's going to be okay. Because if you tell me, I know for sure it'll be true."
Emma then leaned forward in her chair and rested her head beside JT's on the pillow so that they were touching.
"All of those things, and so much more," she told him. "I promise."
Meanwhile, having managed to eventually find his way home, Jay got out of his car. He slowly walked from the parking lot until he was in front of his apartment door. As he put his door key into the lock, he didn't notice two men come up behind him.
"Jason Hogart?" one of the men spoke.
"Who wants to know?" he asked, annoyed and refusing to turn around.
"Police," the other officer identified.
"I'm hung-over, not drunk. If you think there was something wrong with my driving, you're full of it. So go bug somebody else."
"That's not why we're here," the second officer said as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "We're going to need you to come with us."
Jay turned around and saw the two officers facing him.
"I told her we should have stayed in bed today."