A/N: What do you know? We just skated past "Stuntwoman" in word count and chapter count!
This is officially my third longest story behind VictoriNEXT and its sequel.
Looking back on my much older tales, MAN WERE THOSE TEENY TINY!
Jade's initial flight took her from Louisiana to Illinois but once the airbus took off from O'Hare, it had to land. While they were just passing Minnesota, an announcement came over the PA system from the pilot reporting a "mechanical issue" and will land at the nearest airport. Jade didn't find out the specifics, but the nitty gritty she obtained from the flight attendant was that the pilot wasn't confident the aircraft could make the full trip to Seattle.
So, they landed in Sioux Falls, South Dakota which was the nearest major airport. Closer ones were there but they were microscopic compared to the international hubs such as Chicago or Seattle. Smaller airfields like these were for smaller, more local excursions. The choice of Sioux Falls made it feasible for the passengers to get on a connecting flight to take them the rest of the way west.
This took a really long time because essentially an entire commercial aircraft was required to pick up the marooned passengers. Jade also had a hard time getting her hands on some coffee around here. Lines were excruciatingly long and even when she finally got some, it was subpar. She thought the trip away from home was the longest thing ever but never envisioned the way back would be worse.
That was a strange phenomenon for people who often travelled. Somehow, the way to there seemed shorter than the way back home. It didn't make sense that a three-hour car ride felt like four when going back the way you came. Jade knew it wasn't in her head. This whole trek was taking ridiculously longer than it should. It would be a couple of hours in South Dakota until the weary travelers got a new plane to take them (and their luggage) out of here!
Nearly twenty-one hours since departing her rented apartment, Jade touched down in Seattle-Tacoma airport.
If the jet lag from the handful of flights didn't make her uneasy, the shaky bus ride from the airport to the ferry did.
Jade breathed in the cool air blowing across the increasingly frigid waters, such contrast from the warm dry air she got accustomed to down in New Orleans. She kind of missed it. It made her forget her upset stomach for a little bit anyway. There was still the Uber from the ferry back to Camano Island.
She had about enough when the SUV let her off at the side of the road. After tipping the driver through the app, he pulled away, kicking up dust and small rocks in his wake. Jade coughed when one of her older neighbors recognized her and waved. She forced a civil greeting and waved in return before slinging her carry-on and other bag over her shoulders and dragging the big rolling suitcase behind her.
The gravel driveway made it difficult, but she didn't have to go too far. When you arrive at Jade's house, the first thing you see is the back of the detached garage. Moving further up, you can make out the house itself. Many wouldn't like the rather unseemly eyesore when people first lay eyes on her residence. But Jade preferred it. It added to the privacy. Google Maps would have a limited view of her property, which was fine with her. Anyone who wished to see her home or expansive yard which led to a private beach would have to be invited.
The blonde sighed with a grin that was more genuine when her abode loomed before her.
Taking out her keys, the door opened, and she was met with a stark chill. With a shiver, it came back to her. Jade had left so abruptly that she failed to contact the utility company to restore the power. The water was still running, but it would be nothing but cold coming out of these pipes. Electricity was out as well.
"Fuck me sideways!" the medical examiner grumbled.
Jade got her cell and called the provider.
"Good afternoon and thank you for calling Whidbey Public Works..." came the automated operator. "For help with paying your bill, press 1. For help with your service, press 2."
Her finger hovered over the number two button just in case.
"For restoring your service, press 3."
She nodded and selected three.
She paced around while the phone rang, and it connected to a peppy female voice.
"The number you are calling from is connected to an existing account on Highland Drive. Please verify your address by entering the numbers followed by the pound sign..." Jade pressed her four-digit house number and hit pound. "Thank you! One moment..."
Jade collapsed onto her couch with a yawn. She had gotten a few winks here and there but now that she was back home, it hit her hard just how tired she was.
"I see that your electric and gas were voluntarily shut down. If you wish to restore service..."
(Isn't that why I'm on this side of the directory?)
"...press 1 now."
Her patience was wearing thin, but she obeyed the menu by picking her option in the affirmative.
"Great! Account under...JADE...WEST...will be fully restored in less than twenty-hour hours."
She sprang up into a sitting position.
"TWENTY-FOUR HOURS?!"
"Have a wonderful rest of your day. Goodbye!"
And with that, the call disconnected.
Her hands tugged at her yellow hair, screaming at the top of her lungs. Guess a shower would have to wait until tomorrow. Wonderful. Now Jade had to look around for candles and a lighter because tonight was going to get pretty dark!
Looking at her luggage piled up by the front door, she sighed. That looked like too daunting a task at the moment.
The first thing she had wanted to do was visit Dr. Reynolds at the hospital. But she was so fatigued that driving seemed like an even more Herculean feat. And it wasn't like the medical center was just around the corner!
Instead, Jade just crawled into bed, which thankfully was made with fresh linens before she departed. After a moment's thought, she draped herself with the heavy valor comforter to add an extra layer. No telling how cold this was going to get. After breaking things off with Luanne, going back to sleeping on her own was tough. But that was the apartment. Here, she had always slept alone.
Hours later, she stretched and opened her eyes. She was immediately taken aback at just how dark it was. Never in her own home was she ever spooked like she was now. Didn't help that she had been away for well over a year. It felt so alien to her, unfamiliar.
Jade's heart pounded as she held her chest. Then she thought of Bev.
The conceit that her spirit was with her, waiting for her to return, like she was some sort of house ghost. Not a malevolent haunting, but a loved one who stayed behind to watch over the living. Believing this, Jade gathered the courage to penetrate the darkness.
She flung the blankets open and swung her legs to plant herself on the floor. Jade usually slept with minimal clothes. She hadn't zonked out fully dressed since college with those long study sessions and the occasional social gathering that carried on.
It wasn't like she didn't have a spiritual side. Jade just never made up her mind on what she truly believed in. Most of the religions had something to take away, mostly what happens to us when we die. Given her line of work, Jade needed to hold onto that something happens to us when we shed that mortal coil. Otherwise, those people in the morgue would be too depressing and (for lack of a better term) meaningless.
Jade's nerves would stay steady while presiding over a corpse by knowing in her heart that he or she was where their suffering was over, and they found peace.
The pale woman navigated her way through the void to the drawer in the living room where she had her lighter wand from the kitchen and an old oil lamp her aunt owned. Jade picked up the habit from her to keep it fueled for emergencies, just like checking the batteries on a flashlight.
But it was a process. First, Jade needed to soak the wick in the oil for a few minutes and only then could she light it. While waiting for that, she lit a few candles around the room to add some light. Now, it was ominous and warmer. She found herself holding her palms inches from the flickering flame, relishing in its heat.
Once enough time had passed, she readied the lamp by lighting the saturated wick and carefully putting on the elongated glass bulb. A switch adjusted the intensity of the flame so it could burn as bright as you wanted but brighter meant it would peter out faster. Jade turned it to the highest setting and where it glowed brilliantly. It was better than setting a fire.
If only she had some wood, or she would've just started one in the fireplace. And there wasn't enough junk mail on the table to serve as fodder for the flames either.
Jade lowered the lamp's light and set it down on the table. She started scanning through the mail that Greg was nice enough to arrange in neat piles. He had them separated by important (bills), important (non-bills), suspected junk (advertisements), definite junk (credit and loan applications). She smirked, thinking how that guy was more of a dad than her biological one.
(I really should see him.)
She checked the time and saw it was only 7:10. Plus, she was feeling refreshed compared to a few hours ago.
(I've got time!)
Jade licked her lips and grabbed a Monster from the pantry. It wasn't cold, not that she had a means of fixing that. Not yet. And most likely what little she still had in the fridge had spoiled a long time ago.
The woman winced as she chugged the warm strawberry kiwi caffeinated grenade and grabbed her keys.
The parking lot was awfully sparse as visiting hours were ending. Jade got here as quickly as she could, leaving her less than half an hour to visit Reynolds. If she missed her window, she would have to come back tomorrow and that wasn't possible One, there was too much she needed to take care of, and two, sleeping would be difficult if she didn't check on him.
Despite her laborious odyssey back to Washington, Jade just couldn't sleep. Off and on, she'd be so physically tired that her body would take a break but no real, fulfilling REM sleep since she got the news of Doc's accident. It would set her mental state at ease when she sees him with her own eyes.
Jade marched into the hospital, the receptionist doing a double take upon seeing her.
"Long time no see!" the older woman smiled.
"Sorry, but I'm in a hurry..." Jade huffed. "Which room is Dr. Reynolds."
The lady was nice and didn't give the medical examiner the old smoke about how visiting hours were ending. Jade wasn't an idiot, so she just spared the song and dance and gave her the details.
Jade stepped off the elevator and was almost to Greg's hospital room when she was impeded by an unexpected tall brunette.
"Who are you!" she shot accusingly.
She turned around and blinked, surprised by the striking blonde who seemingly manifested out of nowhere.
"Oh, hi! I'm Detective Vega," she smiled. "Are you visiting Dr. Reynolds?"
Jade just looked down at the other woman's hand and sneered at it.
"He's right over..."
"I know where he is!" Jade sharply interrupted her, nearly bumping Tori's side on the way in.
Andre was walking down the hall and acknowledged his partner.
"How's he doing?" he asked.
"I don't know," Tori shrugged. "I was about to see but...he seems to have a visitor right now."
His ears picked up on the new voice in the doctor's room and he lit up.
"Jade's back?"
Tori did a double take and landed back on Andre's face.
"That was Jade? Jade, the medical examiner? That Jade?"
"Why'd you say it like that?"
Suddenly, a nurse walked past them and into Reynolds' room. Jade hastily exited, promising Greg that she would be back when the nurse was done with him. Her eyes locked onto the man she knew. Jade threw her arms around Andre, who chuckled and hugged back.
"I have to say I'm not surprised to see you," he told her. "Are you back-back?"
"Yes!" Jade nodded. "I've been gone long enough."
She leaned and narrowed her eyes at Tori.
(And it seemed home had gone to hell since I've been away!)
"Oh, Jade!" he gestured toward the tall brunette across from them. "This is Tori Vega. She's been working with me and Beck. Tori, this is Jade West."
"We've met," the medical examiner huffed with a folding of the arms.
Tori just awkwardly brushed back her hair.
Andre noticed the clock on the wall and quickly checked his phone.
"Oh, shit. I gotta go. Tori, see you back at the station, okay! Bye Jade! Let's do coffee sometime."
Jade waved her fingers as her friend departed. Once he was out of sight, her whole posture shifted when it was only her and Tori.
"So, you were the one who chased down the prick who hit Reynolds?"
Tori cautiously nodded.
"Have you fingered who did it?" Jade pressed.
"Working on it!"
The blonde shook her head.
"Hang on a minute, did you get a license plate? Make of the car? A positive on the driver?"
Tori blinked rapidly and bit her lip.
"I have a partial plate and a general description of the vehicle. We are currently weeding out...o-others."
Jade held the bridge of her nose.
"Useless fucking detective..." she mumbled to herself.
"What?" Tori asked, leaning in. "Are you alright?"
"Oh, yes!" Jade grinned. "And why not? Dr. Reynolds is laid up in a hospital bed and NOBODY is behind bars answering for that! Everything's just fucking dandy!"
She nearly put the fear of God in an orderly when she marched away to leave.
(And I was worried I was losing my touch with the first impressions.)
A/N: Welp, Tori and Jade finally meet! That could've gone worse...