XIII

Friday Afternoon, September 14, 201

Karen was currently driving the SUV as they cruised along Interstate 80 near South Bend, Indiana. Tuesday afternoon, they had driven for twenty-four hours from Los Angeles to North Platte, Nebraska. Desperately needing rest and still emotionally numb from the weeks events, they had driven from North Platte to Iowa City on Thursday. Now they were heading toward a hotel just east of Akron. Saturday would see them arrive home.

Blair had talked to her father several times, each time David telling her that he had no word on Jo. Blair knew she simply couldn't fear the worst, because chances are, Jo hadn't been in or near the building, but not knowing was keeping her on edge.

She had dozed in the middle row of seats, when her cell phone rang. She startled wide awake, and saw it was her father again. The time on the phone said it was just after 4pm, Central Time.

"Daddy...anything new happening?"

There was silence for a minute, Blair thinking the call had dropped, but then she heard the sweetest sound she had ever heard in her life.

"Hey Princess, it's me", the voice, full of emotion, said in return.

"Joey?", she whispered, her free hand flying to her mouth, tears springing from her eyes. "Oh...my God, Joey!"

Hearing Blair's words, Karen pulled over to the side of the road, putting the hazard lights on, turning toward Blair with a beaming smile, offset by her own tears.

"God, Blondie", Jo cried without any shame, "I've missed you so damn much. The last three days...I ain't ever seen anything like it. It's a nightmare."

"Joey..." Blair again held back the urge to openly cry, "I was so worried about you, honey. I figured you left your cell phone in the squad car, which is why I haven't heard from you."

Jo laughed at that remark. "Yeah, I always do seem to forget it in the squad car, don't I? We'll have to buy me a new one, 'cause I think it's never gonna be found."

"That's my barbarian", Blair said, as Karen handed her a bottle of water. "How is Zid? Is he all right?"

The pause in Jo's answer told Blair what she didn't want to hear. "I dunno, Blair", Jo replied, her voice sounding defeated. "I ain't seen him since about 9am on Tuesday morning. I'm afraid he is...he is..."

"We'll deal with it together when I get home tomorrow, Jo", Blair said calmly.

"Blair?" Jo hesitates for a moment. "About the argument we had before you left, I..."

Blair stopped her. "Joanna Marie Polniaczek, that argument is ancient history, do you understand me? It's in the past. Don't even think about it right now. We will talk about it later, but not right when I get home, sweetheart."

"God, Blondie, I love you so much that it hurts. I can't say I was thinkin' about you all the time since Tuesday morning-I was at what you call Ground Zero since I got there Tuesday morning until about 2pm today. I plan to go back and do what I can to help. I gotta help, you know?"

"I know you do, Joey", Blair said with more than a little pride. "Your devotion to your job is one of the things that makes me love you so much. I'm so very proud of you."

"So you'll be home tomorrow?"

Blair smiled again. "Yes, probably mid-Afternoon. We're in Indiana right now, and we're spending the night near Akron. I can't wait to see you, Jo, but I'm pretty afraid to get a firsthand look at the city."

"I don't even have words for it, Blair", Jo said with a shudder. "I know you've seen it on TV, but when you see it up close...it's like Hell on earth."

"I'll be with you as soon as I can, love, so stay strong for me?"

"I will, Princess", Jo said with a smile on her end. "Your dad woke me up from a much needed nap, and in a sec, I'm kicking him outta the Precinct and going back to sleep."

Blair heard her father laugh in the background, the blonde joining in. "Well, try to have good dreams Joey. I love you so much."

"Right back atcha, Princess. I'll see you soon."

Even knowing now that Blair would be back in New York the next day, Jo did exactly what she told Blair she would do-she headed back to "The Pile", around 9pm, and remained there until the next morning. She did what she could, be it the bucket brigade, or helping to move debris, or even passing out water and sandwiches to the other search and rescue workers.

Captain Randazzo ran into her in the middle of the night, both of them still laboring to help in any way they could to continue what was now the Search and Recovery phase of the catastrophe. The word "Rescue", everyone knew by now, was not longer needed.

"I wanted to let you know, Polniaczek, that I have been in touch with everyone workin' at our Precinct. The only person not accounted for is Nathan", he said, emotion choking him up. "I officially have listed him as 'missing and presumed dead'. It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I have talked to his wife and his parents. I'm so sorry."

By this time, Jo's emotions had been so numbed that she hardly batten an eye, but her Captain knew that underneath, his charge was hurting. "I appreciate you lettin' me know that, Cap'n", she said softly. "When things settle down, I'll go see his wife. I hope to hell you're wrong", she said with some last vestige of defiance, "and that the bum is just workin' somewhere, but...I think I know in my heart that he's gone. I'll miss him so damn much, sir."

The Captain put a supportive hand on her shoulder. "I will, too. Yeah, he could be a wise-ass sometime." That made them both laugh. "But he was a damn good officer, and a good man."

Jo had informed Captain Randazzo that Blair would be home the following day, and he readily agreed to give her some time to spend with Blair.

"I can tell ya, Jo", he said with feeling, "that the first time I got home afterward, I hugged my wife as hard as I ever had. Our kids came over with the grandkids for a while, and I hugged them tight, too. I know we got a lot of work to do in the coming weeks and months, but it's important to me that my officers and workers get to spend some quality time with family."

"I appreciate it, Cap'n", Jo said with a smile. "I told ya about the fight Blair and I had before she left, and seeing her is just gonna lift my spirits so much. I hope it energizes me so that I can do my job in a way that is worthy of Nathan..." She choked up momentarily, "and all of 'em who died there."

The Captain smiled and nodded. "I knew you'd get it, Officer. This is gonna be tough on us no matter what, but we need our families and friends to keep our spirits up, and, as you said, that'll make our work from here on out worthy of those who didn't make it."

"Amen, sir."

Her Captain released her from working at The Pile around 5am. He did inform her that once her few days off with Blair were over, she'd be returning to regular cop work.

"That don't just mean being out in your cruiser, or doin' paperwork, but the investigation into this thing is gonna involve law enforcement on every level-and that includes us. We need to be ready to assist in any way we can."

"I get it, sir", Jo nodded, "and if I can catch just one son-of-a-bitch that had anything to do with this, then Nathan won't have died for nothin'. I'll be ready, sir, I promise."

With that, Jo went home, slept for a few hours after taking a cleansing shower. David Warner called her about 1pm, informing Jo that Blair indicated they would arrive about 5:30pm, and to meet her at the Warner Building.