Halfway through the movie, Jessie was struggling to stay awake and leaning on John was making it twice as hard. He had his arms wrapped around her, holding her close, so the rising and falling of his chest, as he breathed, was gently rocking her, pulling her to sleep.

"Well, that was an ending I didn't expect," John said as the credits began to play. "I really liked it. It kept me guessing."

Jessie's eyes flew open at the sound of his voice. "Yeah, it's one of my favorite movies. I can watch it over and over again and not get tired of it." She unsuccessfully tried to suppress a yawn.

John laughed. "Someone's tired...ready to call it a night?"

"No, I'm okay. I'm good for another movie or some t.v. if you want..."

"I wouldn't last through another movie, I'm wiped. Walkin' around on crutches all day wears you out."

"Your leg's really gonna be okay, though, right?"

"That's what they tell me. With just a little more healing and some physical therapy, you'll be as good as new or at least just as good as you were before...in four to six weeks." John said in his best t.v. commercial voice.

Jessie laughed. "That's good. You're probably anxious to get back to work then, huh?"

"Yeah, but I think Nathan may be a little more anxious for that to happen, than me, because he's stuck doing all the leg work." John grinned. "He's probably hating me, right about now."

"When...when do you think you'll be going back to Atlanta?" Jessie asked hesitantly. She wasn't really sure she wanted to know the answer to that.

John caught the hesitation in her voice. He held her a little tighter and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Well, I'm no good to Bailey riding a desk...they won't clear me for field work until I lose the crutches, and I have at least two more weeks with them, so there's no sense in going back until I can work. So, you're gonna have to put up with me for at least two more weeks, but I'm sure, after tonight, you'll be happy to be rid of me by then." He said it jokingly but regretted it immediately. He felt her unease and he wanted to kick himself for bringing it up.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I went off like that, it was stupid. I don't...I'm not usually like that."

"I was kidding, Jess, I didn't mean anything by it. I'm not mad now, and I wasn't mad before...not for a minute. You just caught me by surprise, that's all. It's okay. We're okay. Got it?" She nodded against him. "Good." Deciding she needed more reassurance he figured he'd throw himself out there and let her know he wanted her to go to Atlanta with him. "Hey, I've been thinkin'...maybe you can come to Atlanta with me when I go back? Ya know, get out of the city...get away from everything for a while. I have a decent size apartment and a house, just outside Atlanta...it's quiet...secluded and you're welcome to stay for as long as you want or...or you could just stay..."

"You're asking me to stay...to live with you, in Atlanta?"

"Yes, I am. It's just something to think about, Jessie. There's no pressure, you don't have to decide right now, but know that the offer is always open. You're welcome anytime, for as long as you want to stay. I don't know what your plans are, once you leave here, I just want you to know you have another option, that you have a home in Atlanta...always."

"I don't know what my plans are either." She told him, then asked softly. "You want me to stay with you...after everything that's happened...after everything...you still want me to go with you?"

"Hey," He moved away from her, so he can see her face and she can see that he meant what he was saying. "It's because of everything, that I want you with me. Jessie, you've only existed, for me, for two weeks and although circumstances kind of threw us together, I feel like you've always been here." He tapped his chest. "You're part of me now. I missed out on being your brother for twenty-one years...whether you come to Atlanta or not, I don't want to miss anymore. You...and Robert too, we're family now...I gave up having a relationship with Dad and because of that, I had a brother I never got to know and a sister that needed a big brother to help her...to protect her. That's not gonna happen again, you and Robert, you guys got me for life."

Jessie didn't know what to say. She felt the same way and to hear it said out loud, overwhelmed her. She couldn't find her voice and her eyes watered, blurring her vision. There was a voice inside her, telling her to say 'yes', to go to Atlanta and stay with John, and deep down, she knew who that voice belonged to. Not knowing what else to do, still unable to find her voice, she smiled and turned towards him, so she could wrap her arms around him and just hold him, tight. The second her head rested on his chest, the tears that threatened to fall, rolled down her cheeks like tiny rivers.

"It's okay, Jess, it's okay. Just think about it, okay?" She nodded. "We have time now." He felt his own tears start to fall. "Ya know," He chuckled. "This was not supposed to be a sad thing. If I knew we were gonna end up like this, I would've never brought it up." He sniffed. "What a couple of big babies, huh?"

She sniffed and laughed into his chest. "Big cry babies." She gave him a tight squeeze. "I love you."

He sighed, happily, and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too, Jess...I love you too."

A dull ache in his leg brought John quickly out of sleep. He opened his eyes and massaged his thigh to work out the stiffness and get the blood flowing again. Some time in her sleep, Jessie had moved away from him and had curled up on her side around a pile of hospital blankets. It wasn't long after their crying session that she had finally given in to exhaustion and fell into deep sleep, and he followed soon after. He smiled.

Massaging his thigh didn't seem to be doing enough to ease the ache in his leg, so he slid off the bed and limped across the room to his overnight bag. He dug through it until he found the muscle relaxers and mild painkillers his doctor had given him. He took one of each. 'It probably would have been better to take these before...' He thought to himself. 'Then I wouldn't be in pain now. Oh well, lesson learned.' He paced the room, waiting for them to kick in, as his movement worked out the stiffness. It wasn't long before the dull ache disappeared and the muscles throughout his injured leg loosened up and took all the discomfort away. He sat down in the chair next to Jessie's bed and stretched out, leaning back deep into the cushions, he closed his eyes. Several minutes later, the full effect of the muscle relaxer/painkiller combination pulled him into a warm, welcoming sleep.


Hours later

Jessie's subconscious screamed for her to wake up before it was too late, but it was useless, she was too deep into her sleep. So, her mind grabbed hold of her memories, fears, and imagination, mixed them all together and...

Her head was pounding and her stomach felt like it was being squeezed in King Kong's fist. She heard voices, talking loudly or yelling, and she wished for deafness because the echo they were causing in her head was intolerable. Light stabbed at her eyes when she opened them, but she refused to close them, she just kept blinking until they adjusted to the light and she could focus clearly. Once they focused on what was in front of her, she wished for blindness.

She was in a warehouse, that seemed vaguely familiar but she's not sure why, sitting in a chair and standing directly in front of her, with their backs to her, are her father, Roy Langston, and two other men, she recognizes but can't place. Looking between them, at who they were being so attentive to, she saw Sal. He was hanging from the ceiling, by his arms, from a pair of handcuffs, a hook and a chain. His feet were flat on the cement floor and he was shirtless, bruised and bleeding. He was yelling, begging Patrick to help him, to stop, and he kept saying he was sorry for something, but the mud that she felt packed in her head, was preventing her from understanding everything he was saying. She turned her head to the left. Nothing, just darkness, and shadows. She turned her head to the right and fear, like an Anaconda, swallowed her up, slowly, from head to toe. John. He was unconscious and handcuffed by one hand to the wall. Blood covered the entire left side of his face, making him look like a two-toned, half human/half alien character you would see in an episode of Star Trek. It was warm in the warehouse, but looking at John, she suddenly felt cold and started to tremble from the inside out. She had to scream 'No!' several times in her head before she was able to verbalize it. All four men turned to look at her. She cringed.

"Well, look, my girl's finally awake," Patrick said as he walked towards her.

He looked like her father, he sounded like her father, but it felt wrong. His face was different, harder, and his eyes were all wrong. They did not look like her father's eyes, she couldn't put her finger on it, but they were just wrong. She started to ask him what was going on, but all she managed was a stuttering sound and a soft squeak.

"You look a little green, Jessie. I told you all that drinking and partying you do, was going to catch up with you someday. I told you, didn't I?"

She wasn't sure if she was supposed to answer him, it wasn't like she could anyway, so she remained quiet.

"You are just a mess, young lady...a damn mess." He was standing practically on top of her, shaking his head in disgust. "It doesn't matter though, you're not getting out of this. I told you, the next time I had to teach someone a lesson, you were going to help me...you were going to learn how it's done. So, c'mon, get up." He grabbed her by the upper arm and pulled her to her feet.

Her legs felt like rubber when he stood her up and she wondered why he hadn't noticed, or if he did, why he had said anything about her shaking, which to her felt like she was treading in ice cold water.

Her father, or The- man- that -looked- like -her- father, pulled her along as he walked back over to where Sal was. "Lesson one..." He said to her as they stopped in front of him. "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."

"Sal..." She managed to whisper.

"Jessie! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...please, don't let him do this...don't do this, please." Sal begged her, his eyes wild with panic.

"Sal..." Was all her voice would allow her to get out.

"That's right, your buddy, Sal...and don't think we aren't going to talk about that later. You know what he did, your good, buddy Sal?"

She shook her head, her eyes fixed on Sal's pleading ones.

"He got us killed...me and the boys here...he went behind my back, fucked up, and got me killed...got us all killed."

"But...but..." She stammered. The- man- that -looked- like -her -father, slapped her, hard, in the back of the head. She backed away from him, confused. Her father had never hit her, ever. She had never seen him get mad enough to even think about doing it. 'What the...' She thought to herself. Her backward motion stopped when she bumped into Roy Langston. She turned to look at him, he smiled, and she flinched. Piranha. That was the only word she could think of to describe what she was looking at. Deciding, that The-man-who-looked-like-her-father was a lot less scary than The Human Piranha, she moved quickly to his side.

Patrick put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed, sending a shooting pain down her arm, but he said to Langston. "Don't even think about it, don't smile at her like that...don't even look at her...just because we're working together, don't think I won't rip your Goddamn head off and mount it on my wall."

"Your the boss," Langston told him.

"Damn right. Now, let's teach this girl something. Sledgehammers?" Langston nodded and he and one of the other men disappeared. Patrick, his hand still gripping Jessie's shoulder, turned her to face him. "This is what's gonna happen, Langston and Lewis are going to show you a few things, then you and I are going to have some fun of our own...understand?" When she didn't answer him, he shook her. "Understand? Answer me dammit!"

"Y...yes...yes."

"Good, very good." Patrick looked over at the other man. "Where the hell did they go for those sledgehammers? Why didn't they bring them in with them when we got here?"

"I don't know. They don't work like us, Patrick. They're not really thinkers if ya know what I mean."

"Then how did you get mixed up with them, Krieger?"

"Money, boss, a lot of money."

"Dad..." The word didn't seem to fit right with him, but what else was she going to call him. She pointed over towards John. "What..what about John?"

"So you know about your big brother? Damn pig cop...don't you worry about him, we'll take care of him after we deal with our buddy Sal."

"What?! He...he came to help us...he...he saved me...you can't-"

A slap across the face cut her off. Her right cheek stung and she could taste blood in her mouth. Standing there wide-eyed, she tried to hold back the tears, she knew would make things worse. He grabbed her shirt in his fist and pulled her towards him so that their foreheads were almost touching.

"Can't! I can't!" Patrick said through clenched teeth. "There is nothing I CAN'T do, you got that? Nothing. Now, I don't know what he's told you, what lies he's told you, but believe me, he will be taken care of tonight. He runs away with that bitch mother of his and becomes a cop...an F.B.I. pig...uh-uh...no way...there's no way a son of mine becomes a cop...and lives to tell about it. Do you know how bad it makes me look? The trust issues I have with other businessmen? That all ends tonight. You can understand that, right?"

She nodded and felt him twist more of her shirt in his fist. She knew what he wanted. "Yes, I...I understand."

Patrick let go of her shirt and pushed her away from him. "That's what I wanted to hear." He reached out and touched her cheek where he had slapped her. "I don't want to hurt you, Jessie, I really don't, but I will if I have to."

Jessie flinched when The-man-who-looked-like-her-father touched her still stinging cheek, but she wouldn't dare move away. She didn't realize she was holding her breath until he moved his hand away and it rushed out all at once. What the hell was happening? It didn't make sense. Everything was wrong and was going to get worse. She needed help. She needed someone to fix this craziness.

"Robert...where's Robert?" She asked hesitantly.

"Bobby will be here, don't you worry, he's just picking up another friend for the party." Patrick grinned.

She didn't like it. She didn't like that grin on him, it made him look like The Human Pirahna. She was scared of the answer, but she had to ask. "Who? Who's he picking up?"

Still grinning, he answered. "Joey."


Tbc...

This was turning in to a huge chapter, so I decided to split it up. chapter 48 should be posted shortly...