It didn't escape anyone's attention that John looked just as miserable as he came downstairs as he did when he went up with the cheesecake. Sam moved over on the couch and patted the empty cushion next to her.

"You okay?" Sam asked him as he sat beside her. She put her hand on his back to comfort him.

"I just wanted her to remember how she felt about him...because she's not thinking straight...she's just reacting. I pushed too hard. I didn't mean to break her down like that." He said miserably.

"Is Jessie alright?" Robert asked him. He thought about going upstairs himself but remembered Joey was there and he trusted that Joey would take care of her if she needed it.

"We fell asleep for a little while and she had a dream about Sal. She said she was fine, but I know it was a bad one. She didn't want me to feel guilty about what I did, so she wouldn't tell me about it...too late for that."

"Don't beat yourself up John, she'll be okay."

"No she won't and we need to stop pretending that she is and that everything she has going on inside her will go away with time, hugs and kisses because I don't think it is. We need to do something."

"I understand your frustration John, I do, I get it. Unfortunately, I've been there before with her. Trust me, the more you try to control her, the more out of control she'll get. We can't make her do anything she doesn't want to do until she's ready to do it." Robert sat back and sighed. When he spoke again there was a deep sadness in his voice. "Any control we had over her behavior or recklessness died with Patrick and Sal. They kept her in check...Sal especially. I've always been the easy-going, fun Uncle." He half smiled. "It took the three of us to balance her out."

"So we're just supposed to let her self-destruct because Dad and Sal are gone?" John shook his head and answered before anyone else could. "No way...not gonna happen, that's bullshit." He said angrily.

Sam moved her hand from his back, so she can hold his hand. "John that's not what Robert meant. He's just saying it's not going to be easy."

"I know." John sat back into the couch cushion. "I'm sorry Robert, I didn't mean-"

"John, it's okay buddy, I know you didn't."

Bailey noticed that John was absently rubbing his thigh. "John, how's your leg?"

John moved his hand away from his thigh. "It's fine, just hurts a little."

"Those stairs are gonna do you in," Robert said standing up. "I'll get your meds."

"Robert I'm okay, it's not that bad."

"At least let me get you some Motrin. You shouldn't sit there in pain if you don't have to."

"Okay, okay but no prescription stuff." John conceded. When Robert disappeared into the kitchen, he shook his head smiling. "He's almost as bad as Grace."

"You're lucky Grace isn't here. I got a feeling she would be very unhappy with you." Sam told him.

"I'm thinking about calling her." Bailey winked and smiled at him, then said seriously. "You're doing too much John, even with crutches you are putting too much pressure on your thigh and using muscles that haven't had a chance to heal. You need more rest."

"I'll get more rest next week. There's too much going on right now with Jessie. She needs me."

"You're not going to do her any good if you wind up back in the hospital."

"I know." John sank deeper into the couch cushions and rubbed at his forehead, trying not to focus on the pain in his leg. "I promised I'd take care of her...I need to make sure she's going to be okay. I'll be fine."

"Here ya go kid." Robert handed John a glass of water and some Motrin. He heard what John had said as he was coming back into the room and sat down smiling. "You know, I really love how close you and Jessie have become in such a short amount of time. Patrick always wanted the two of you to have a relationship. He talked about it alot...he truly thought it would help heal you both and I think it did and still is. Jessie does need you, now more than ever, and I think you need her too, but that being said, it can't be at the expense of your health. I know you want to make up for lost time, and if it were just the two of you it would be different, but you don't have to take Jessie on by yourself. We're here too...Joey, Brian, and myself...we're here for her and for you."

"I know, I just don't want to make things worse...I don't want to hurt her."

"I don't want to either John, but to help her we may have to. She needs to hit rock bottom before she'll let us help and at some point, we may have to help her get there."

"I don't know if I can do that..."

"Don't think about it right now John, let's just take things as they come and go from there," Robert told him.

"That's easier said than done." John put his head back and concentrated on the ceiling, looking for any distraction to keep him from reacting to the pain in his thigh.

Noticing John's discomfort and the slight grimace on his face, Bailey decided to pull rank and "suggest" John go lie down and get some rest. "John its been a long day...it's probably been a long couple of days...and tomorrow is going to be tough...you're clearly in enough pain to make you uncomfortable...you need to take your medication, rest that leg and get some sleep. You can't help Jessie if you're not well yourself."

"I need to check on Jessie before I do anything, Bailey. I need to know she's okay." John sat up and started to reach for his crutches. "I'll just go upstairs-"

Bailey shook his head. "John I don't think that's a good idea if your thigh's hurting." He pulled his phone from his pocket. "But don't take my advice, I'll ask Grace." He said opening his phone.

"Bailey don't...I mean it's late, don't bother Grace." John knew Grace would hijack the VCTF jet and be at the penthouse before morning if Bailey told her he wasn't doing well, so he relented. 'You're right, the stairs, right now, are a bad idea." He leaned back into the couch and cursed silently at the pain in his thigh.

"Jessie's okay," Sam told him, putting her hand on his thigh, just above where she could see his bandage ended. "Think about it, if she wasn't don't you think Joey would let you and Robert know?"

John nodded. "Thanks, Sam, you're right, he would."

Robert half smiled. He knew the only reason John was still sitting there was Bailey's threat to call Grace. He could see John was worried about her and felt miserable, thinking he had hurt Jessie somehow and he could also see the discomfort his thigh was causing him. He decided he was going to help John with Jessie so he would take his medication and rest. He stood up, picking up John's empty glass and Sam's empty wine glass.

"I'm ready for a glass of wine. Can I get you a refill, Sam?"

"Yes. Thank you."

"John, can I get you anything? More water? Something else?"

"More water. Thank you, Robert."

"Bailey, anything for you?"

"No thank you, Robert. I'm good with what I have." Bailey told him as he picked up his half-full scotch glass and took a drink.

"Glass of White wine and a glass of water, coming right up," Robert said heading towards the kitchen. As soon as the door closed behind him, he sat down on a stool and called Joey.


Jessie was glad that her back was to Joey, while she told him about her dream about Sal. She was sure that if she was looking at him, she wouldn't have been able to get through it without breaking down.

Her dream upset him, but Joey was able to hide what he felt about it until she got to the end. The thought of her having to turn a gun on her self-was just too much. He pulled her as close to him as he could, held her tight, and buried his face in her hair.

"God, if anything like that ever happened to you...I wouldn't..." Joey shook his head. "I couldn't handle it. It would kill me if you..." He couldn't say it out loud.

Jessie took his hand, put it on her chest and held it there. "I'm okay."

"I know, it's just...I hate that you dream things like that. I want you to have good dreams."

Jessie rolled on to her back so she could see his face. "I have good dreams when I'm with you."

Joey smiled and kissed her softly on the lips. "Really?"

She nodded. "I guess all the bad stuff in my head just shuts down when I sleep with you."

"Then I guess we'll have to have more sleepovers."

"That sounds good to me." She reached up and touched his face, running her fingers along his jawline. His eyes were like deep pools of milk chocolate and she just wanted to drown in them. "I wish Dad knew how happy you make me...how much I love you."

"I should have manned up and told him about us. Now that he'll never know how I feel about you, I wish he knew, ya know I what mean? Even if he wouldn't have been happy about it, at least he would have known."

Jessie nodded in understanding of what he meant. "You know it wouldn't have mattered to me, right? Whether he liked the idea of us being together or not, I'd still be with you."

Joey kissed her. "Me too. Although I'd probably have to find a new job."

Joey's phone rang and he reached behind him and picked it up off the nightstand.

"It's Robert." He told Jessie, then answered the phone. After listening to Robert talk for a couple of minutes he whispered to Jessie that it was about John and she sat up quickly.

"Is he alright?"

Joey nodded in response to her, then spoke to Robert. "Everything's fine...we're just hangin' out up here and talking...yes, it wasn't good, but it wasn't the worst...she's okay, Robert...absolutely, we'll be right down...it's fine, whatever John needs...we won't...okay, see you in fifteen."

"What's wrong?" Jessie asked as soon Joey and Robert's conversation ended.

"John's leg is bothering him...he's in pain, but he won't take his meds and go to bed until he knows you're alright. He feels bad and responsible for the dream you had about Sal. He wanted to come up and see you but they think the stairs is what's causing the problem. Robert wants us to go down there, but act like we don't know what's going on with him."

"I told him he had nothing to feel bad about. It wasn't his fault." Jessie moved to the edge of the bed and stood up. "Let's go then, John should get some rest." She picked her clothes up off the floor. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom and wash up."

Joey got up and walked around the bed to gather his clothes from the floor and as he picked up his jeans, he noticed two small Ziploc bags on the floor. He picked them up and recognized what was in one of them immediately. Provigil. "Callahan...that son of a bitch." He said angrily.

He pulled on his jeans and sat down on the edge of the bed, staring at the two small bags in his hand. One was definitely Provigil, it was the same stuff he had brought her, from her bedroom, when she was in the hospital. He didn't know what was in the other bag and because there wasn't as many of them, he wondered if she had started taking them already. "Dammit, Jessie." He was angry with her, but he was worried about her more.

The bathroom door opened and he shoved the bags in his pocket. He would confront her with them when they were alone again after he figured out what he wanted to do about it, right now John needed them. He reached down for his shirt and pulled it on as he stood up.

"I'm gonna clean up a little."

Jessie stopped Joey as he walked passed her and kissed his cheek. "I'll meet you in the den. I need to get the Cheesecake John brought up so I could put it in the fridge."

"Okay, I'll just be a few minutes."


Tbc...