Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 239,415 times)

[heroicmuse]

Kayla had called Marlena in for a consult after she had finished examining Marissa. “The good news is,” she told Marlena, “there’s no signs of trauma in the genital area, so she hasn’t been raped. But what happened to her obviously isn’t good, so I thought I should bring you in prior to releasing her.”

“Of course,” Marlena said. “Why don’t you introduce me to her, since you’ve already built rapport with her? That way she knows you’re turning her over to someone she can trust.”

Marlena followed Kayla into the hospital room. “Marissa,” Kayla said, “this is Dr. Marlena Evans, our head psychiatrist. I wanted her to talk to you for a few minutes about - “

“A shrink?” Marissa said. “Thank you, Dr. Brady, but no thanks. I don’t need to talk about what happened to me. It’s over and done with.”

“I can understand that,” Marlena said, sitting down near Marissa. Kayla left the room to give them some privacy. “But you know, Marissa, you’re a young woman away from home for the first time and you suffered a very violent attack. It’s important to know that there are people you can go to for support. You don’t have to deal with this alone.”

“If you really understood, you’d leave me alone.” Marissa crossed her arms. “I don’t need support, I don’t need pity, all I need is to see the cops haul in the guy who did this to me and throw him in a cell, okay? Now go away and tell Dr. Brady to let me go back to my dorm so I can go on with my life.”


Rory didn’t bother to show up to English class, which meant he was probably off somewhere smoking a joint. Figured, JJ thought. He barely paid attention during class either; while Dr. K droned on and on he put his mind to work coming up with a plan to make sure Rory didn’t get himself expelled.

By the time class ended, a dim idea had formed in his mind. He had a feeling about where Rory was, and the first step in his plan had to be to find out what his friend was up to.

Instead of going through campus proper, JJ cut through the woods behind the dorms. There was a place in the middle of the woods where someone had cut down a bunch of trees, and Rory and the other stoners went out there a lot. JJ knew because Rory kept trying to get him to come.

He was halfway there when his cousin Hope called his name. Dammit, JJ thought. Hope had her badge and gun, which meant she was here on official police business, and even though he wasn’t doing anything wrong, he didn’t want to talk to the cops right now, or anytime, really.

“Hey, Hope,” JJ said, trying to smile.

She didn’t smile back. “What are you doing in these woods?”

“Taking a shortcut to the English office.”

“Well, don’t. It’s not safe--someone’s already broken into the dorms twice and for all we know he’s hiding out here.”

“Twice?” JJ’s heart beat fast. “Who… who got hit the second time?”

Hope looked him up and down, but then her face softened and she said, “I don’t think it was anyone you know, honey. But have you seen anything suspicious, anyone around here who doesn’t seem to belong?”

JJ thought about it for a second. “Nobody.”

“Okay then. Get back to campus.” As JJ reluctantly turned around and headed back towards the main buildings, Hope called after him, “And JJ?” He turned his head and she said, “Be careful, okay? This guy could be anywhere, so keep your guard up.”


Nicole sat with Parker for what seemed like forever. There was an oxygen tube slipped into his little nose now and he was hooked up to a heart monitor. The display glowed an eerie green that Nicole couldn’t stand looking at.

Parker’s eyes were closed; he was resting, the nurse had said, but Nicole wished he would wake up.

“Come on,” she said under her breath. “Where’s your daddy already?”

The door opened then and Maxine came in, followed by Daniel. Nicole stood up. “Daniel, hi. I’m glad you’re here. I’m sure Parker is too, or he will be when he wakes up.”

“What happened?” Daniel asked.

Nicole shrugged. “One minute he was fine, the next his heart was beating at a thousand beats a minute and he was gasping for breath.”

“We’re gonna have a cardiologist take a look at him,” Maxine told Daniel, “as soon as you sign off on it.”

“Okay,” Daniel said. “Order a pulmonologist consult too. Maybe whatever happened started in his lungs. I’m thinking an asthma attack and then he just got scared. Also, I’ll want a full blood panel in case he picked up some kind of infection that’s causing all this.”

“Yes, doctor. I’ll get the paperwork started right away.” Maxine left the room.

“How long has he been out?” Daniel asked Nicole.

“Maybe half an hour.” Nicole patted Daniel’s shoulder. “He tired himself out fighting the EMTs. The tubes and equipment scared him and he didn’t want them touching him.”

“Yeah, I bet they did.” Daniel sighed. “I guess I’d better call Chloe, let her know what’s up.”

“Right now?”

“She’s his mother, Nicole. She has a right to know her son’s in the hospital.”

“I know that. But what about you, Daniel? You just got off work, got this terrible news, and you don’t get a minute to just be with your son?” Nicole pulled out the chair. “Sit.”

“I can’t. There are people I gotta notify… and I gotta check on his test results… and confirm for once and for all that this was nothing serious.”

“Nothing serious? Daniel - “

“I gotta do something, Nicole! Parker, he was fine this morning and now he’s lying in a hospital bed hooked up to a breathing machine. I need to know why. I need to use all my medical know-how, all my expertise, and get him better.”

“I understand, believe me I do,” Nicole said. “But Daniel - “

“No.” Daniel turned his back on Nicole. “Any other patient, I’d go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure they get the best care I can possibly give them. When it comes to my son, I gotta do twice as much.”

“She’s right, you know,” Kayla said from the doorway.

“Kayla.” Daniel’s manner was professional, his tone of voice even, but he didn’t fool Nicole, and she doubted he was fooling Kayla either. “Did we get the test results back already?”

“I think we should talk.” Kayla glanced at Nicole. “Would you mind giving us a minute?”

[fluffysmom]

I hope Kayla doesn't have bad news about Parker. Poor little guy.

I hope Rory isn't getting into any trouble.

[heroicmuse]

Rory was sitting on the grass outside some campus building or other with Bev. He couldn’t tell the buildings apart, especially not when he was high.

“So I heard you talked to JJ,” Bev said.

“Yeah.”

“Let me guess. It was a waste of your breath, he’s too good to help us, blah blah blah. Loser.”

Rory giggled. “You’re the one who’s in love with him.”

“Was in love with him. After Paige dumped him, he didn’t come running back to me like he should. I finally realized he’s not worth my time. And soon you will too.”

Rory turned the other way, not really wanting to deal with Bev and this conversation. She was ruining his high. He thought he saw JJ in the distance, going into one of the buildings.

Bev turned her head too, to see where Rory was looking. “That’s the English building. I bet he’s going to go narc to Dr. K about you.”

“We’ll see about that,” Rory said.

“Want me to come with you?”

“Nah, I can handle it myself.” Rory ran off.  Bev started to follow him, but her phone buzzed. She glanced at it, then rolled her eyes before turning around and hurrying in the other direction.


Paige spent the whole bus ride home thinking about what Daphne had said. It would hurt her mom for her to move out… but if she had gone to Stanford, her mom would have just had to deal with it. Plus, Daphne was right. Her mom’s voice was too much in her head, and that had messed up things with her and JJ.

JJ. She’d rearranged her whole life so she wouldn’t have to see him anymore and remember who she once thought he was to her. If she moved to the dorms, she’d be on campus all the time--did that mean she’d run into him more often? He’d looked like he wanted to say something to her today. She was glad she got out of the classroom before he could.

When Paige came in, her mother was pacing around the apartment. “Oh, thank goodness,” Eve said. “I was just about to call you to make sure everything was all right.”

“What’s wrong?” Paige asked, putting her purse down.

“Oh, nothing. Just me being silly, I guess. But it sounds like your ex boyfriend or maybe some of his delinquent friends are up to their old tricks.” Eve gestured towards the computer. “Have you seen the news today?”

Paige glanced at the headline. “Three students attacked at Salem U. dorms,” she read aloud. “Three? Daphne told me it was only one.”

“Your friend wasn’t one of them, was she?”

“No. She’s fine. But Mom, what do you mean JJ had something to do with this?”

Eve bit her lip. “You just be careful while you’re on that campus. I won’t have something happening to my baby girl, you understand?”

Paige sighed. “I guess this isn’t a good time to bring up that Daphne invited me to live in the dorms with her.”

“You’re not going to do that, especially not now.”

“I was thinking about it. Mom, I’m 18 years old, and if I had gone to Stanford - “

“Stanford would have been different. You’d have been surrounded by a higher caliber of people, baby, and they wouldn’t be going around putting knives to people’s throats and tying them up.”

“Crime happens everywhere, Mom.”

“Well, it’s a moot point now, because until the police catch whoever it is that’s doing this, there’s no way I’m letting you live in the dorms.”

Paige got that same gleam in her eye that she used to when Eve tried to talk her out of dating JJ. She pulled out her phone.

“Baby, listen to me,” Eve said. “I may have been wrong about some things before - “

“A lot of things.”

“Be that as it may, I’m not wrong about this. You have far too much sense to go moving into the middle of a crime wave. Come on now. Wait until they have this guy behind bars before you think about moving.”

“I guess,” Paige said.

“Come on, living with me isn’t so bad, now is it? I still owe you that shopping trip and now that you’re totally free of certain other influences and my money’s come in, you should have plenty of time to - “

“I have to study,” Paige said, and went into her room.

Eve sighed as she let herself fall back onto the couch. I’m only trying to keep you safe, she thought, just like I always have.


Dr. K wasn’t in his office when JJ knocked, but his door was slightly open. JJ came in to leave him a note.

There were papers strewn all over the desk. Rory’s goofy plan wasn’t going to work, JJ thought, and he was just going to get himself caught trying. He rifled through the papers, looking for a post it so he could leave a note. As he moved a large pile, something fell out. JJ bent down to pick it up, then did a double take.

It was the exam.

He couldn’t help glancing at it. All multiple choice, looked like the questions were about two books they’d read.

He shook his head. He shouldn’t be doing this. He reached forward to put the test back…

...and felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. He looked up into the face of that security guard who was always patrolling the campus.

“What do you think you’re doing, son?” the security guard said.

[heroicmuse]

JJ swallowed hard, aware that he looked guilty even though he hadn’t done anything. “I was leaving a note for my professor, but he isn’t here so - “ He started to walk off.

“Hold it,” the security guard said. “You’re not going anywhere.” The guard picked up the exam. “Now, I wasn’t born yesterday. I know what an exam looks like and I know you were looking at it.”

“I swear,” JJ said, “I just knocked it off his desk by mistake and was picking it up.”

Neither the guard nor JJ noticed Rory tiptoeing up to the door, which was cracked open. The guard tapped the paper against the desk. “You'd better give me one good reason why I shouldn’t detain you for attempted theft of an exam and let the school decide whether to expel you."

Rory’s mouth dropped open, but he stood his ground, waiting to see what was going to happen next.


Kayla hugged the file to her chest and looked at Daniel. Her demeanor was professional as always, but Daniel thought he saw her lips tremble slightly.

“So what’s the news?” Daniel asked. “Did we get his blood panel back?”

“We haven’t taken the samples yet. I wanted to talk to you first.” Kayla gave Daniel a semi-smile that he knew all too well. He’d seen her give it to hundreds of patients before delivering bad news.

“Have a seat,” Kayla told him.

“I’m okay,” Daniel said, crossing his arms. “Just give it to me straight.”

“I spoke with the pediatric cardiologist and she wants to do a chest x-ray to see how big Parker’s heart is. Depending on what she sees, she might also want to do a CT scan. Now I know that’s a lot for such a little guy to go through, but she feels, and I agree, that there’s almost definitely something wrong with Parker’s heart.”

“Are you sure?” Daniel turned towards Parker. “Parker, he gets scared a lot, and sometimes… sometimes when he gets spooked, it’s hard for him to breathe. I don’t think we can conclude anything until all the tests are in.”

“Daniel.” Kayla brushed his arm with her fingertips. “Right now you’re speaking as if you’re Parker’s doctor, but you’re his father. I know how difficult it is for any parent to hear that their child has a serious health condition, especially us, because we have enough knowledge to convince ourselves that it’s really something else.”

“I’m not doing that, Kayla. Parker, he could have a whole lot of things going on besides his heart, and I’m just saying, we don’t want to overlook anything.”

Kayla patted Daniel’s shoulder as she pulled out the chair next to Parker’s bed. “Let me worry about that.”

“So I don’t get a consult on my own son’s care?”

“Of course I’m going to consult with you, the same way I would with any parent whose child is seriously ill.” Kayla pushed her hair behind her ear. “I can’t imagine what I would do if Joey was in the hospital. As a doctor, I’d want to do everything I could to get him better, and as a parent I’d be terrified that I couldn’t. Daniel, I really think Parker needs you to be his daddy right now. Sit with him. Be there when he wakes up. Hold his hand and tell him it’s going to be all right.”

Daniel took out his phone. “I guess I’d better call Chloe after all. And, uh, Maggie will want to come see him as much as she can too.”

“Yes. Do that.”

Daniel sat down next to Parker’s bed, holding his phone but not doing anything with it.

“Daniel,” Kayla said.

“Yeah?”

“If you need time off to be with Parker or books for him or… or anything at all for him, just ask. It’s not a problem.”

“Thanks,” Daniel mumbled. Kayla patted his shoulder again before leaving the room.

Daniel sat with his phone in his lap, watching Parker breathing through the oxygen mask.


Roman Brady was in his office, trying to make sense of the reports Hope and Rafe had given him about the Salem University robber when a kid wandered into the police station. Roman watched him from his office. The kid was dressed smartly, wearing a pressed white shirt, gray dress pants and a suit jacket to match. He was talking to one of the uniforms, asking if Hope was available.

Roman came out of his office. “Do you have information about a case?” he asked.
The boy turned. “Actually, I’m trying to get information. Jeff Atkins, WTTN TV.”

“They’re sure taking reporters young these days.”

“I’m just an intern,” Jeff said. “I work for Nicole Walker; she sent me to get the scoop on this guy who’s attacking people over at Salem U.”

“And she sent you to harass my uniforms instead of calling me herself?”

“Um…” Jeff was clearly flustered by Roman’s manner; his cheeks turned slightly red and he stammered, but he quickly recovered. “Well, see, I go to school there, so she figured I’d have an in. I’d really like to get a quote from Hope Brady, but since she’s not available, I guess you’ll do.”

“Oh yeah?” Roman smiled slightly. “Well you can tell Ms. Walker that the chances of me giving away anything about this case have just gone from slim to none. And if she gives you a hard time, you tell her Commissioner Brady said to go to hell.” Roman walked back into his office, leaving Jeff standing there, stunned.


Rory leaned forward, listening as JJ said, “Look, you don’t know me, so I get why you think I’m lying, but I’m not. I came in here to ask Dr. K about this stupid novel we’re reading, which I totally don’t get no matter how many times I read it, and he wasn’t here, so I was looking for some paper to write a note. That’s all that happened.”

The security guard stared at JJ, sizing him up. “I’ve heard some stories in my day, son. That’s the best you can come up with?”

“That’s why you should believe me. If I was lying, don’t you think I’d come up with something better than that?”

Outside the door, Rory looked around to make sure nobody had seen him. He took a joint and his lighter out of his pocket. He had to flick the lighter a couple of times to get it to light. He heard the school cop tell JJ to have a seat. “Damn it,” he said under his breath, flicking the lighter again. This time it ignited, and he was able to light the joint.

Inside the office, the guard wrinkled his nose as the smell of Rory lighting up wafted into the office. JJ noticed it too but did his best not to react. He hated the smell of that stuff now that he’d been off it over a year.

“I’ll be right back,” the guard told him. “Don’t you move.”

Rory ducked around the corner and threw the joint down the stairs, then flattened himself against a wall. The guard didn’t see him as he ran down the steps.

JJ was sitting in a chair by the door, staring into space, as Rory hurried in. He grinned. “Rory to the rescue, but you can thank me later. Let’s get outta here.”

[Kpatch]

I'm catching up with this story and I love it. The dialogue and situations are so realistic. Love how you've involved so many characters in such a natural way.

I'm not sure if Rory just made things better or worse for JJ.

I am really worried about Parker.

[fluffysmom]

I hope Parker will be okay.

I hope JJ can get out of this mess. I'm glad Rory is trying to help him.

[unavitasegreta]

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to catch up, but I must admit that I enjoyed the binge reading. I'm so curious about what's going to happen with Parker and also about JJ/Rory and their dilemma!

[heroicmuse]

Miles called while Nicole was waiting outside Parker’s room. “Look, I’m sorry that I haven’t gotten past round one of American Idol, journalism school version, but I’m dealing with a medical emer - what? No, I didn’t hire an intern behind your back. I barely feel like hiring one that you know about, so why - you know what? Maybe when I’m done finding out whether my friend’s son is going to live, I’ll rush right back to the office and check my files to see if we even interviewed Jeff.”

She slammed the phone down just as Kayla came out of Daniel’s room. Nicole put aside her anger to give Kayla what she hoped looked like a sincere smile. “Kayla. How is he?”

“Parker? Or Daniel?”

Nicole shrugged. “Either one.”

Kayla sighed. “I can’t really talk to you about my patient, even if it’s off the record, but I can tell you that Daniel’s in for a rough time. I’m glad he has a friend to support him right now.” Kayla’s phone buzzed. “Excuse me,” she said, and walked off.

Nicole hesitated, then opened the door and quietly came into the room. Daniel was on the phone. “I’m sure, Chloe, I’m sure he’s gonna be okay, but I thought you should be the first to know. Well, he’s sleeping now, but yeah, as soon as he wakes up I will call you back so you can talk to him. Me? I’m okay. No, really, I am. Yeah, I’ll keep you posted. Bye.”

Daniel hung up the phone. He sighed deeply as he began to put in the next number. Nicole put her hand on his shoulder. “Hey,” she said softly. “How are you doing?”

“You too? I’m fine, Nicole. It’s this little guy we gotta...we gotta be worried about.”

Nicole glanced at Parker. “He’s stable, right?”

Daniel nodded. “Though I’ll feel a whole lot better when he opens his eyes.”

“Same here.” Nicole squeezed Daniel’s shoulder. “Are you sure there isn’t anything I can do? I can, I don’t know, make it all about me and tell you about my crazy boss to distract you. Or I can be uncharacteristically unselfish and go get you some coffee or give you a shoulder to cry on.”

“Nah, I’m good.”

“No you’re not. If you were fine with this, I’d really be worried about you.” She turned Daniel’s chair slightly. “Talk to me. Tell me how much this sucks, rant about how unfair it is, say whatever you have to say.”

“Nicole, I really appreciate what you’re trying to do, but really, I’m okay.”

“Are you?”

Daniel sighed. “When I gotta give bad news to a patient, Nicole, I try to do it without making them feel like they’re gonna fall apart. Parker got sick what, an hour ago? And in that time...in that short span of time everybody’s started tiptoeing around, asking me in these soft voices how I’m doing, acting like they expect the answer to be that I’m one step away from shooting myself. So if you wanna help me… just go, Nicole, just go do whatever you would have been doing if Parker wasn’t hooked up to a bunch of machines.”

Nicole sighed. “I know I’m being a little pushy--” Daniel raised his eyebrows at her. “Okay, a lot pushy. But if anybody knows what it’s like to insist you’re okay when you’re losing your child it’s me.”

“That,” Daniel said, “is completely different. Parker, he’s gonna be fine.”

“You’re right. Of course you’re right. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry. I was just trying to help.”

“I know you were.” Daniel got up, glancing at his phone. “I gotta make some calls,” he said firmly, “and Nicole, I gotta do it alone.”

“Okay, fine. It’s really hard for me to tear myself away from the scintillating task of finding an intern who won’t destroy my relationship with the Salem Police Department, but if you don’t appreciate the sacrifice I’m making…”

Daniel couldn’t help smiling. “You have a relationship with the Salem Police Department?”

“Well, it’s a work in progress.” Nicole smiled too, but then got serious. “Hey, when Parker wakes up, give me a buzz, okay? I’d like to come see this little guy.”

Daniel nodded. He got up so that Nicole could hug him. “And you,” she said. “Take it easy.”

Parker’s eyes flickered open, then shut as Daniel sat back down. He sighed as he took the little boy’s hand in his own.


“So are you moving in or not?” Daphne asked Paige. The girls were sitting on Daphne’s bed; Daphne had insisted on hanging out here to demonstrate that they weren’t going to be scared out of doing what they were normally going to do.

“I don’t know.” Paige sighed. “Don’t get me wrong, Daphne, I want to, but…”

“But?”

“My mom doesn’t think it’s safe. She got really upset, Daphne.”

“Of course she did. Paige, she doesn’t want you to move out of her house.”

Paige’s eyes narrowed but Daphne said, “I’m not trying to talk against your mom, Paige, but remember what happened with JJ?”

“This has nothing to do with - “

“Yes, it does. You let your mom’s voice way too far into your head and you gave up on the first guy you ever loved, all because of her. Do you really think it’s going to be easier when you meet someone else?”

“I don’t know.” Paige crossed her arms. “If I do this, it’s not because I want to get away from my mom, okay? And it’s not so I can date. It’s just… all my friends are here, and I’m almost 19, so I don’t know, isn’t this what I’m supposed to do?”

“Gee, don’t make me feel so special.”

Paige pinched her lips together angrily. Daphne said, “Look, I’m not trying to start a fight. I’m just saying, never mind what your mom wants. If you want to be here, then forget this guy running around trying to terrorize us.”

Paige looked at the empty bed on the other side of Daphne’s room. She imagined decorating the blank wall above it the way she wanted to, with her jazz musician posters and her inspirational quotes. She’d put her pictures on the empty desk on her side of the room, next to her computer. She’d take only a few outfits to put in the dresser, as she could easily go home to get more clothes, and the top drawer would be for her jewelry box.

“I do want to move in,” she said slowly.

“Then do it,” Daphne said.

“There’s just one thing we have to take care of first.” Paige turned towards Daphne. “Come talk to my mom about how safe it is here.”

“Paige - “

“No, listen. She won’t believe me, she thinks I’m just naive or something. But you live here. So if you tell her it’s safe, she’ll back off.”

Daphne crossed her arms. “Is this really the only way you can get the green light to move in with me? Come on, Paige, isn’t it enough that you know that it’s safe?”

“You don’t know my mom. Once she gets something in her head, she doesn’t let go.”

“So fight back.”

“This is me fighting back, Daphne.”

“No, it’s not. This is you giving in. If you don’t want to move in with me, fine. But don’t hide behind your mom’s opinions then complain that she’s too much in your business. Come on, Paige. You’re the one who said that it’s time. So are you in or not?”


Rafe and Hope got some mozzarella sticks on their way back from Salem U so that they could fuel themselves for breaking this case. Now they were back in the police station, trying to put everything together. “Okay,” Hope said as she grabbed a stick, “what do we know so far?”

“Looks like it’s the same guy behind all three crimes,” Rafe said. “I mean, it could be a copycat, but same M.O on all three? What are the chances?”

“Right. By now rumors are probably spreading like wildfire, especially since we’ve been there all day, but I’m sure there’s some things only the perp knows.”

“Yeah, like his identity.” Rafe sighed. “Different dorms, different age students, and so far not one of the victims knows the others. So I’m thinking, he’s striking randomly. But somehow I can’t shake the feeling that that’s what he wants us to think.”

Hope’s phone buzzed. She glanced down at it. “Well, maybe we’ll know more in a little while. Kayla just gave me the go ahead to interview Marissa again.”

[Kpatch]

Mmmmozzarella sticks!

Love the dialogue and descriptions. Have I said that already? Still true. You convey so much with these little "reaction" shots.

So Nicole doesn't even know where the intern came from.

I am worried about Paige and Daphne's safety, especially because Paige keeps saying it's safe there!

[fluffysmom]

I liked the Daniel and Nicole interaction. I hope Parker wakes up soon.

[heroicmuse]

Roman stuck his head out of his office just then. “Hope. Rafe. Glad I caught you both.”

“I’m about to go interview a victim,” Hope said.

“Well, glad I got to you before you left then. Both of you in my office. Now.”



When JJ and Rory got out of the building, Rory said, “What do you say we hit up the stoner circle in the woods?”

“No, man, that’s not a good idea.”

“Dude, come on. This stuff just saved your life! Look, you don’t have to smoke if you don’t want to. Just hang out, like old times.”

“No, it’s not that. The woods are crawling with cops, dude. They think that guy who’s robbing the dorms is hiding out there.”

“All the more reason to go. Listen. We catch this guy for them, we’re heroes. They won’t care how lit up we are then.”

“Rory - “

“All right, fine. Forget it.” Rory started to stomp off.

JJ followed him even though he was going towards the woods. “Dude! What’s your problem?”

“What do you think?” Rory turned around, his eyes blazing. “I had your back in there, man, even though you totally went behind mine.”

“What?”

“You went all high and mighty telling me how cheating’s so wrong, acting like you would never do anything like that. You put on a good show, man. You even had me believing it. But you were really just out for yourself, going to steal the exam and cut me out of it.”

“You know what,” JJ said, “think what you want. If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have even been in that office in the first place. I was scouting it out to see if your idea was even gonna work, and guess what? It’s not. I did you a favor, man.”

“That’s what you think, dude. You know why you got caught, JJ? Cause you were stupid. I’d be way smarter about it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, you think you’re so smart just cause you don’t get high anymore, but I got news for you. If it wasn’t for me and Kurt, you’d have had no one to bail you out with Theresa, and who was it who was by your side the whole time you were dating Paige, trying to make you see how wrong she was for you? And now I threw away a piece of my best weed just to save your ass again. I may not be the smartest guy in the world, but at least I have the sense to know who my friends are.” Rory pulled his backpack over one shoulder. “See you around, dude.” He stormed off.

“Rory!” JJ shouted, but Rory was gone. JJ pulled off his backpack and threw it at the woods. It landed right at the edge; he heard a crack. He could feel people staring at him as he went to go pick it up.


Victor came up behind Maggie as she was packing her overnight bag. He put his hand on her shoulder and said softly in her ear, “If only we could get away together somewhere.”

Maggie smiled as he kissed the back of her neck, then turned towards him. “A tempting offer,” she said. She put her arms around Victor. “I really hate to leave you, but I’m sure we can live without each other for just one night.”

“I’ll try, but it won’t be easy.” Victor smiled back. “But what I don’t understand is why JJ Deveraux spending his time hitting the books is such a crisis. The boy’s finally putting his nose to the grindstone. Jennifer should be celebrating, not inviting you to join her in a panic attack.”

“Oh, it’s not JJ I’m worried about,” Maggie said, folding a sweater and putting it into the bag. “It’s Jennifer.”

“Jennifer? For goodness sake, that woman was an investigative reporter once. She’s faced down madmen in the jungles of Africa, been held hostage more times than you can count without blinking an eye, and look at what she put up with with that husband of hers. Surely she can survive her adult son deciding to make a life for himself that doesn’t include spending every waking minute with her.”

“Jack Deveraux had his wild side,” Maggie said evenly, “but somehow he and Jennifer made it work. Ever since he died, she hasn’t been herself. Oh, she’s had periods of stability, but especially now that Daniel insists on moving on - “

“As he should have, all things considered. If she’s throwing this kind of fit about JJ spending some extra time with his schoolbooks, I can’t imagine how smothered Daniel must have felt. He must have been turning blue from oxygen deprivation every time he got around her.”

“Jennifer has seemed lost since Jack died,” Maggie said, “like she’s just drifting through life, waiting for the next big adventure that’s never going to come and lashing out at the world for not giving it to her. Who knows, maybe a girls’ night in will help her center herself on something other than JJ.”

“Always the optimist. That’s why I love you.”

Maggie and Victor kissed. Just then Maggie’s phone buzzed. She pulled away reluctantly and answered it. “Daniel, hi. We - what? No, of course I want to be there right away. I’m sure Victor will too, but you can ask him yourself if you want; he’s right here. Oh, all right. Yes, we will be there as soon as we can.”

She got off the phone and turned towards Victor. “It looks like Jennifer is going to have to wait,” she said, her eyes wide and wet with tears. “Parker’s in the hospital, and it sounds serious.”


In Roman’s office, Rafe seemed more at ease sitting across from Roman than Hope did; despite the fact that Roman was her brother-in-law, or maybe because of it, Hope always felt like she was being judged, and she didn’t like it.

“You two wanna tell me what you’ve been saying to the press? Cause this morning we got some doe eyed kid in here sniffing around, asking all sorts of questions, and he seemed to know that Hope here was on the case.”

“I haven’t said anything,” Rafe said, “and I’m sure Hope didn’t either. Come on, Roman, we’re working a case on a college campus. Kids see us snooping around, they start telling stories about why we’re there.”

“Yeah, well, I hope that all it is. I don’t think I need to tell either of you how high profile this case is. Now I’ve read the reports, and I see that campus security made it very clear that they don’t want this on the news. Now if this drags out too long, we might have no choice but to make a statement, but for now… if you see the press, you keep your mouths shut. And if either of you has any press contacts--” Roman glanced at Rafe--”and yes, I’m talking about your friendship with Nicole Walker--you tell them to call off their dogs until we’re good and ready to make a statement. Is that clear?”

Rafe and Hope both nodded. “Is that all?” Hope said, irritation creeping into her voice.

“Actually, there’s something else I want to discuss with you, Hope. Rafe, give us a minute, will ya?”

“Of course.” Rafe left, closing the door behind him.

Hope crossed her arms. Roman looked her up and down and said, “I can’t help thinking, Hope, that for some reason this case strikes close to home.”

“No more than any other case.”

“You’re already putting a lot of hours in and as we get closer to catching this guy it’s just gonna get worse. You up for it?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You got a little girl at home, and a hotshot defense attorney you’re dating. Neither of them’s gonna wait for you forever, Hope.”

Hope reddened. She glanced at her phone and said, “Neither is this vic. I’d better go interview her while the details of the attack are fresh in her mind. Excuse me.”


Paige went to Club TBD to think things over, though why she went there she wasn’t sure. The whole place felt like JJ to her. She remembered sitting with him here, telling him she loved him, talking about how they would always be together…

She sighed and stirred her water with her straw.

“You look like you could use something a little bit stronger,” somebody said. Paige looked up from her water at T, who was standing there giving her a goofy grin.

[Kpatch]

Maggie and Victor's discussion about Jennifer is hilarious. Victor is speaking for all of us!

I wonder what cracked in JJ's backpack.

I think Roman struck a nerve with Hope. Made me think about Nighttime Hope. Hmmm.

I'm enjoying this story immensely heroicmuse.

[heroicmuse]

Thanks Kpatch! I'm glad you're enjoying it

[heroicmuse]

He was cute, Paige thought, and then banished the thought to the back of her mind. Cute didn’t work out so well.

“I don’t drink,” Paige said.

“Of course not.” T was still grinning. “You’re too young. But hey, can I convince you to live dangerously and get a soda?” His eyes sparkled and his voice dropped to a whisper. “Or maybe even a burger.” Paige scrunched up her face at him and he said, “No? Well then how about some conversation at least?”

“Could you just leave me alone?”

T looked crushed. “Yeah. No problem.” He started to walk away.

Paige sighed. “Wait, come back here.” T turned and she said, “Look, I’m sorry. It’s just that between my mom, and my friend, and my ex-boyfriend, the world is kind of weighing down on me. But I shouldn’t have taken it out on you just because I don’t know how to make a decision.”

“No. You shouldn’t have.” T pulled out the other chair. “I’ll give you a chance to make it up to me, though.”

“Yeah? How?”

“Rumor has it that I’m a pretty good listener, so lay it on me.”

Paige’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you being so nice to me? I hardly even know you.”

“Maybe that’s what your problem is,” T said. “You can’t fathom someone being nice to you just to be nice.” He got up. “I gotta get back to work now. Good luck with… well, whatever it is you’re upset about.” He walked off, leaving Paige to stare into her water and think things over.


When Hope walked into Marissa’s hospital room, the bed was empty. She cursed under her breath and turned to leave. Maxine was coming in.

“Maxine,” Hope said. “What happened to the girl who was in this room?”

“That poor girl who got attacked at Salem U, you mean? She signed herself out. Said she didn’t see a need to wait around anymore and that she was putting this behind her.” Maxine sighed. “I sure wish she’d stuck around some. I’m not supposed to say this, but between you and me, Dr. Evans wasn’t pleased she left. She hasn’t got herself together nearly as much as she thinks. How could she, after an attack like that?”

“Nobody could,” Hope agreed. “Any idea where she went?”

“Probably back to that dorm room of hers. She seemed real anxious to get back to where she’d been before all this happened.”

“Thanks.” Hope took off in the other direction.


After Rory left, JJ texted Daniel, but he didn’t feel like hanging around school while he waited for a response. He had too much pent up energy that he needed to get out of his system before he did something he was going to regret later.

He did what he always did when he felt like this. He went to Horton Town Square and looked at the bookstore window that he had broken that time he went crazy. He hated that he’d done it, but he forced himself to relive it whenever he was upset so that he would never, ever do something like that again.

“A dollar for your thoughts,” a girl behind him said.

“What?” JJ didn’t turn around. He pretended not to be trying to see the girl’s reflection in the window; he really wanted to be left alone right now. The girl was sitting on the edge of the flowers in the middle of the square, swinging her long legs. Her dark hair was tied into a high ponytail and her big eyes were staring right at the back of JJ’s head.

The girl smiled. “It’s only supposed to be a penny, but inflation, you know.” She got up off the flowerbed and moved towards JJ. “Anyway, the inside of your head looks like a place I’d like to be. What’s up?”

JJ shook his head. “You don’t want to be there, believe me.”

“Hey, if you’re gonna invite me to a pity party, at least turn around so you can do it to my face.”

JJ sighed. “You’re not gonna leave me alone, are you?”

“I’ve never been known to be like that before. Even the guy who attacked me had to gag me to shut me up.”

JJ did a double take. He turned around to tell the girl--he tried to remember whether anyone ever said what her name was, but he couldn’t--that he was sorry for what had happened to her even though he didn’t want to talk right now. She said, standoffishly, “I knew that would get your attention.”

“I feel terrible for what happened to you,” JJ mumbled.

The girl shrugged. “Don’t be. Unless you’re the guy who did it.”

“No. I’d never - “

“Just kidding. But no worries. At least I get to see what you look like. I’m Marissa, by the way.”

“JJ.”

They shook hands, awkwardly, and then Marissa said, “So seriously, JJ, you look like you’re in just as bad shape as me. What’s going on?”

“Look, Marissa, it’s a long story - “

“I have time.”

“ - and honestly, last time I met a girl in Horton Town Square it turned out to be a total nightmare, one that I just got free of, so no offense, but I’d rather keep my thoughts to myself.”

“That’s cool.” Marissa shifted her weight. “But how about we go get some yogurt or something? I won’t make you say a word, I swear.” JJ sighed and Marissa said, leaning in close, “Look, if you want I’ll tell you every sordid detail of my attack. That always seems to be a conversation starter.” JJ didn’t respond and Marissa said, “Come on, what do I need to do to get you to come sit with me?”

“It’s not you,” JJ said, forcing himself to remember how things had ended with Paige so he wouldn’t make the mistake of getting caught up in this new girl’s enthusiasm. “It’s, look, there’s stuff about me that turns off any decent girl, and I learned that the hard way. So right now I, uh… I gotta go.”

“Ooh, intriguing,” Marissa said. “Well, if you change your mind, I’ll be over there waiting to hear all about you. See you around, JJ.” She gave JJ a quick smile before she turned and walked off.

[Kpatch]

Interesting that both Paige and JJ are working to avoid conversation while others are trying to draw them out. Poor T!