Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 252,160 times)

[heroicmuse]

Sally was showing Nicole some pictures on her phone when JJ walked in. “Um, hey, I’m here,” he said, not sure whether or not to interrupt.

“Come on in, JJ.” Nicole waved him over. “Sally and I were just killing time til you got here with your big story.” JJ gulped and Nicole said, “We’re still working on that relaxation thing.” She turned to Sally, who put her phone away, and said, “This is JJ, our new intern.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sally said. “Nicole’s been talking you up all morning. That’s why I felt a need to distract her with photos of my dog.”

“Uh huh,” Nicole said. “And here I thought it was my sparkling personality.” She and Sally both giggled.

Miles stuck his head in. “If the two of you are finished having a slumber party - “ He saw JJ standing there and said, “Oh, hello, I see the intern’s finally found his way to the office.”

“Sorry,” JJ mumbled. “I, uh, I was covering a hearing for Nicole and I didn’t realize - “

“From now on all stories go through me,” Miles said. “But I’ll let Nicole show you the ropes today.” He left.

JJ’s eyes widened. “I’m sorry, Nicole,” he said. “I don’t know I had to be here at a specific time. I swear, I won’t be late again.”

“Don’t worry about him. You’ll learn pretty quickly to tune Miles out, won’t he Sally?”

“Mmm hmm. About half this job is letting what Miles says go in one ear and out the other.”

“Anyway, whatcha got for me?” Nicole asked.

“A couple things,” JJ said, talking quickly to try to cover up his nerves. “First of all, the judge was something else. He was pissed that this case was even in front of him, and he was like, totally on our side, he didn’t even try to hide it.” Nicole didn’t look particularly interested. JJ bit his lip and went on, “The other thing was, you’ll never believe who showed up there.”

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense! Who?”

“A certain fake intern who you wanted me to track down.”

“Whoa, Jeff was there? Pretty brazen. Though on second thought, I’m not surprised. He probably thought he was going to scoop you.”

“Yeah, pretty much. I told him you were looking for him, by the way, and he practically wet himself with excitement.”

“That’s a visual I will never get out of my brain now. He say anything else?”

“Yeah.” JJ hesitated, fearing he was wrong, then said slowly, “I think, um… I think he gave away… I think he’s the guy the cops are looking for.” Nicole’s eyes widened and JJ said, “I can’t prove it or anything but he was talking up a storm about how Rory attacked him and he was pissed Rory was getting off easy. He didn’t know that I already know for a fact that Rory’s innocent.”

Nicole looked pleased. JJ said, “And there’s more. The reason I was late, um… the second Rory made bail, Jeff disappeared. So I followed him. He was telling anyone who would listen about how unfair it was. Nicole, he was bothering Paige.”

“Your ex, right?” JJ nodded and Nicole said. “Let me guess the rest. You tried to warn her, she told you to stay away from her, and you briefly considered drowning your sorrows in… well, soda I guess… but decided to come to work instead.”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

Nicole sat down on the edge of the desk. “Take it from someone who’s been there, JJ, she’s not going to listen to you. In her mind, she’s such an amazing person that she can’t believe you’d ever move on from her, so anything you do to try to help is just going to make you look like a crazy person in her eyes. I’ve learned the hard way, sometimes you have to let someone you love go completely, or at least make them think that’s what you’re doing. Don’t worry, the work we’re doing here will be enough to save her from herself. But no more conversations about Jeff. It’ll just get her talking to him about you, and you don’t want to be on his radar.”

“I--I don’t love her. Not anymore. I just can’t let…”

“I’m in a giving mood, so I’ll give you another piece of advice for free. Lying to yourself only gets you into trouble.”

JJ looked down at the ground for a second, embarrassed. “So, um,” he said, recovering, “what’s our next step?”

“For right now, we’re going to run this story like it was a typical bail hearing. I’ll show you how to write it up, and I’ll stick it at the end of my broadcast when nobody’s paying attention anyway.” JJ’s face fell and Nicole said, “I know, excitement of the century. But the first thing you need to learn, JJ, is never tip your hand too early. So just go to class, act like you’re Jeff’s friend, and see what else he tells you about himself.”

When Daniel and Chloe got to Kayla’s office, they found Elizabeth Harper there. Daniel scowled; he didn’t like being tricked. “Where’s Kayla?” he demanded. “I thought she had news about Parker.”

“Oh, she does,” Elizabeth said. “She wanted me to make sure you guys were ready to hear it.”

“Well you can tell her,” Daniel said slowly, “that we are more than ready. Both of us, we’re on pins and needles waiting to hear what the full story is with our son. I’ve been doing a ton of research and Chloe, she talked to her dad to get additional information. So we don’t need a shrink right now--we just need Kayla to cut to the chase and tell us what needs to be done for our son.”

“Chloe, you feel the same way?” Elizabeth asked.

Chloe shrugged. “I just can’t take any more waiting.”

“All right. I’ll hang around then, in case anyone needs me afterwards.” She pressed a button on the phone. “They’re ready for you, Dr. Brady.”

Kayla came in, followed by Dr. Collins. Daniel scanned their faces; to most people, they would have just looked like two doctors getting ready to make a diagnosis, but he could tell that it was more bad news. “What’s going on?” he asked, uncertainly.

“I don’t know how to say this,” Kayla said. She glanced at Dr. Collins. “We… we’ve gone over Parker’s xrays, and his echocardiogram… and, well, no matter how we look at it, it’s pretty clear.”

“That?” Daniel asked impatiently.

“That Parker’s heart is not pumping efficiently. It’s working overtime to get his blood circulating, and so it’s… it’s starting to give out.”

“So it’s what you told us last time, right?” Chloe said. “This isn’t anything new?”

“Unfortunately, yeah, this is just additional information. Now we can try him on medication, but…”

“Sooner or later..” Dr. Collins said.

“He’s probably going to need some or all of his heart replaced,” Kayla finished.

[heroicmuse]

Mar 5, 2015 6:23:01 GMT -5 gapeach said:

Bev needs to watch herself before she gets in more trouble than she can handle. 

I wish Bev would listen to you. Unfortunately next week she's going to really get in over her head.

[Kpatch]

I'm not sure JJ really signed on for this big of a job when he agreed to help Nicole. I do think she could be a valuable mentor to him.

My own heart sank when Kayla said Parker would need a transplant. Such heartbreaking news for his parents!

Previews?

[heroicmuse]

Previews will be up by tomorrow morning if not sooner I'm very excited about next week--some of my favorite chapters are coming up!

[fluffysmom]

I wonder how Chloe and Daniel will deal with this terrible news.

I'm looking forward to more JJ and Nicole scenes.

I'm anxious to read the previews heroicmuse.

[unavitasegreta]

I have never really thought much about JJ and Nicole, but they could be an interesting friendship. The two of them know all about self loathing and making bad decisions over and over again. I like this. I like it a lot!

YES for previews!!!

[heroicmuse]

Thanks unavitasegreta, fluffysmom and Kpatch for reading and supporting!

Coming up on Breaking Ties next week...

- Dr. Collins talks treatment with Parker’s parents.
- Daniel and Chloe have a decision to make.
- Jeff loses it after a confrontation with Nicole
- Bev’s forced to make a distasteful deal after she's caught spying.
- Stoned Rory’s attempt to tell JJ something important leads to an argument
- Jill finds out who Paige thinks is her baby daddy

[Kpatch]

Oooh, sounds like a fabulous week of drama. I'm excited that it's some of the author's favorites! Thanks for the previews!

[fluffysmom]

Thanks for the previews heroicmuse. It sounds like a terrific week ahead.

[heroicmuse]

Soon after JJ had gone to class, Nicole heard a commotion in the front of the station. Miles said, “I think Ms. Walker is busy with a story,” and Jeff’s voice rang out loud and clear in response, “Oh, she’ll want to see this. I can guarantee it.”

Nicole busied herself with some things on her desk, wishing Sally hadn’t gone out. She would have loved to have seen this. Jeff stormed into Nicole’s office. “Ms. Walker,” he said. “Jeff Adkins, remember me?”

“I think so. Yours was one of the first applications I threw in the trash.”

Jeff scowled. “Well, that was a mistake, but I’m sure you’ll see that for yourself in a minute. He came over to the desk and tossed a pile of papers on it.

“What’s this?” Nicole asked, still not looking up.

“You might not know this, but I was attacked in the course of getting a story for you the other day.”

“Such dedication. Is this the story?”

“No, I abandoned it because something better came along. See, the guy who attacked me… he had a bail hearing this morning. And I just knew he was gonna get off easy. So I made a point of being there and taking notes. Sure enough, the judge is biased, maybe even crooked… they didn’t even charge the suspect with robbery, and they let him off on some stupid piddling drug charge with only $500 bail.”

“Yes, I heard,” Nicole said. “Don’t look so surprised. I have eyes and ears everywhere.”

“So do I. That’s why we’ll work together so well. So, now that I’ve taken initiative, can I have my job?”

“Let me think about that. You came in with a large pile of unsolicited garbage, so… I think that’s a no.”

“Why?” Jeff’s eyes blazed and he smacked the table.

Nicole stared at him. “Violence on your own time is one thing--I’ve gotten into plenty of catfights in my day--but don’t bring it into my office.”

“Sorry. I just...that threw me off. Why wouldn’t you hire me?”

“Well, let’s list the reasons. We can start with the fact that you used my name to try to get a story, and not only did it blow up in your face, but it blew up in mine. Thanks to you, what few sources I have at the police station won’t talk to me at all. I can’t have someone in here who’s going to drag what’s left of my reputation through the mud and stop me from being able to get the news.”

“Oh, come on. Like you’ve never done anything like that. It was a classic trick, one you should be proud of. If anything, it proves how right I am for this job.”

“Okay, fine, your judgment is questionable, not completely nonexistent. But it doesn’t matter. You’re not getting this job, and in fact, I hired someone else.”

“Who?” Nicole shrugged and Jeff advanced towards her. “Who is it who took my job?”

“It wasn’t yours to take,” Nicole said calmly, “but anyway, I hired someone who can cover hearings objectively, as opposed to this hack job you just gave me. And you can find out who it is at the same time as everyone else--if and when we choose to announce his name on air. Now I’ll need you to leave my office.”

Jeff crossed his arms, thinking. JJ had said that Nicole had run into him. JJ was at the bail hearing. JJ had been talking to Marissa--one of Jeff’s victims--a lot. “It was JJ Deveraux, wasn’t it? Oh my God, I can’t believe you hired that guy over me. He’s not even a journalism major, he has no instincts… and he knew I wanted this job… he wouldn’t have… he couldn’t have…”

“Oh, are you still here?” Nicole reached for the landline. “Let me just call security.”

“I’m going, I’m going.” Jeff glared at Nicole. “But you...and he...the both of you...are going to be very sorry!”


Once they’d gone to Cole’s apartment, one thing had led to another, and before Bev knew it, Cole had ripped off her blouse and was sliding his hand down towards her jeans. Bev wasn’t sure whether or not she wanted this. Something felt wrong about it. But still, this was better than the last time, when he had held her down in anger, and Bev had learned a long time ago it was better, when it came to Cole, to just go along with it if she didn’t happen to be in the mood.

Cole was kissing her hard so she kissed him back equally hard. As he slid down her neck, kissing her over and over, someone pounded on the door. “Damn it,” Cole said under his breath. The pounding continued, and a voice Bev thought she recognized from somewhere called, “Cole! Open up man!”

“Stay right here,” Cole snapped at Bev. “I’ll be rid of this guy in a second.” He jumped up, pulled his pants on and ran out of the room.

Bev wrapped the blanket around herself as Cole went into the other room. She heard the front door creak open. “Hey,” Cole said, “this isn’t a good time, dude. I’ve got - “

“He took my job,” the other person said. “He took my job and his friend got out of jail and the two of them… they’re probably laughing right now, probably laughing at how they got one over on me after all…”

Bev dressed quickly and slid to the bedroom door. She opened it a crack and stared out.

The other guy was pacing back and forth. Bev recognized him as the guy from the woods, the one who attacked Rory. She slid back as he glanced at the door so he wouldn’t see her.

“Who?” Cole asked.

“JJ Deveraux, of course… who else?” Jeff paced back and forth. “You were right, man, those two losers have to be stopped,” the guy said. “They’re ruining everything.”

“So what do you want me to do?” Cole asked.

Jeff turned towards him. He had a cold, hard look in his eyes that scared Bev worse than Cole at his angriest.

“Another robbery?” Cole asked.

“No.” Jeff’s voice was eerily flat. “Bigger than that, man. Way bigger. I haven’t got the details yet, hope you can help me work them out. But you and me, we’re gonna get JJ Deveraux and Rory Adams, for once and for all. And that bitch who works at the station, too… if I can pull it off… but definitely JJ and Rory...”

Bev’s mouth dropped open. She leaned against the door by accident; it squeaked.

Jeff flinched. “You’re not alone, are you?” he said, advancing on Cole. “Who do you have in there? You didn’t set me up did you?”

“No, man, I swear. Look, it’s nobody. I mean, nobody important.”

“Who is it?” Jeff pulled his knife out of his pocket. The blade gleamed; what little light was in the living room reflected off it. “Who?”

“It’s just… just some girl I was gonna score with,” Cole stammered.

“Go get her.” Jeff held up the knife.

Bev looked around, quickly, as she backed away from the door. Cole was up on the fifth floor, too high to jump out the window, and there was no other way out besides through the living room.

The door flew open. Cole stormed into the room. “You screwed up, bitch,” he said under his breath. “Didn’t I tell you to stay out of my business?” He grabbed Bev’s arm and twisted it behind her.

“Ouch! Cole, you’re hurting me!”

“Shut up. You wanted to be involved so bad, well now you are. Someone wants to meet you.” Cole put his hand on her shoulder and pushed Bev towards the living room while holding her arm tightly against her back. Bev struggled, then gave up. She had no choice but to let Cole take her into the living room, where Jeff and his knife were waiting.

[fluffysmom]

Poor Bev. I'm not sure she can get out of this mess. Jeff is desperate.

I liked Nicole throwing Jeff out. What a jerk!

[Kpatch]

I am thinking Jeff is going to threaten Bev's life and she will wind up having to do something to JJ that she doesn't want to do. She will become Jeff's pawn.

Great descriptives!

[heroicmuse]

Jeff turned as Cole forced Bev into the living room. “So,” he said, “this is the eavesdropper.” He paced back and forth, holding his knife. “I can’t believe your girl would try to bring us down. Or maybe the two of you planned it together, I don’t know. I mean, things started going wrong when you sent that stoner my way.”

“Dude!” Cole said. “Come on, man, you know that was a fluke. Besides, didn’t you say if I messed up you’d make the cops think I did it? So why would I - “

“Shut up and handle the situation.” Jeff tossed Cole some rope. “I wasn’t planning on things going this far, but your girl screwed up.” Bev’s eyes widened but she otherwise refused to show any fear as Jeff advanced towards them, holding the knife in front of him. “If you didn’t put her up to it, you’ll do exactly what I want you to do about her.”


“So what happens now?” Chloe asked.

“Let me show you exactly what’s going on,” Dr. Collins told her, “so that I can explain how we’re going to treat it.” She turned on the X-ray projector. “You see these dark spots in his lungs here?” she asked, pointing towards them. “That’s blood and fluid.”

“Oh God,” Chloe said. “My angel has blood in his lungs… what does that mean?”

“It means something’s going on in the left side of his heart, and it’s messing with his circulation.” Dr. Collins sighed. “What happens is the blood and fluid get backed up because of whatever’s going on there, which is what’s causing him to have respiratory troubles. In the meantime, the heart starts pumping harder to try to get things going again, which leads to heart damage. Now, before we can schedule surgery we need to get in and do one more test to see exactly what’s damaged, and I’m afraid it’s one he’s going to have to be sedated for.”

“No,” Chloe said, “no more tests. All we’ve been doing is putting him through one test after another. He can’t take it and neither can we. If his heart is so weak, he doesn’t have time for all of this anyway. Stop testing him and just fix it.”

“Chloe - “ Kayla began.

“No. I don’t want to hear it.” Chloe blinked hard. “All I want to hear out of either of you is what you’re doing to make Parker’s heart work right again.”

“The test, and the surgery, are the second phase of the plan,” Dr. Collins said. Her calmness infuriated Chloe, who gave Daniel an exasperated look. “Before we can even consider it, we need to reduce the pressure on the heart. So first, we’re going to give him some medication to help lower his blood pressure and get the blood flowing more normally. He’ll also need a diuretic so that all that excess fluid can drain.”

“How do you know that the medication won’t be enough to get his circulation under control?” Daniel asked. “From what I read last night, 9 times out of 10, that’s all that’s needed to get the system functioning properly again.”

“We don’t know that,” Dr. Collins said, “but with all due respect, Dr. Jonas, I’d take my 12 years of experience with pediatric heart disease over the homework you did last night.”

“Excuse me?” Daniel crossed his arms. “You think I, what, just Ewe Searched heart disease? I may not be a cardiologist, but I’ve researched treatments for plenty of patients over the years. I think I know how to find out what I need to know, and I certainly know how to read a medical journal article.”

“Of course you do,” Dr. Collins said in that same pseudo-soothing voice. “All I’m saying is that I’ve seen many, many cases like your son’s, and in almost all of them, medication was just the first step.”

“And all I’m saying is - “

“Excuse me,” Chloe interrupted, “but are you two done with your battle of egos? I’d really like to get back to understanding what you’re doing to help Parker.”

“Chloe’s right,” Kayla said softly. “Let’s get this conversation back on track.”

“Thank you.” Dr. Collins smiled slightly. “Now, as I was saying, we’re going to start him on these medications and monitor his heart function for a little while. Then, we need to do a heart catheterization test. We’ll sedate him and put a little tube into his heart so that we can take a movie of how the blood and oxygen are flowing, which parts of the heart are working well, and which aren’t. After that, depending on the results, we will discuss surgical options with you.”

“So he has to have surgery,” Daniel said slowly, “to find out if he needs surgery? No. He is not… he is not going through that…”

“We’ll revisit it when the time comes,” Dr. Collins told him. “In the meantime, Dr. Brady will take care of prescribing the medications for him so we can get started.” Dr. Collins put her purse over her shoulder. “I have to get to another consultation, but I do want you both to know… I hope for the very best outcome for your little boy. Take some time to digest this news before you decide about the catheterization. And hang in there--as scary as it is having a severely ill four-year-old, I can almost guarantee that if we follow the plan I’ve outlined, he will make it to five.”

Dr. Collins left. Daniel and Chloe looked at each other.


Daphne put her hand on Paige’s shoulder. “Hey. Don’t let JJ ruin your morning like this.” Paige looked up, blinking back tears. Daphne handed her a tissue and said, “I guess you’re not as over him as you thought.”

“It’s not that. It’s just… JJ isn’t at all who I thought he was. I saw the proof right in front of my eyes. Jill’s pregnant.”

“JJ seemed shocked,” Daphne pointed out. “So either he’s the world’s best actor or, Paige, he didn’t know.” Paige shrugged. Daphne went on, “Look, none of us knows what happened except that girl and maybe JJ. But it doesn’t matter. You guys broke up a long time ago. Unless... “

“What?”

“Paige, are you thinking about forgiving him so you can get back together?”

“No!” Paige made a disgusted face. “Even if I wanted to do that, which I don’t, there’s no way I can until he owns up to what he did. He’s still insisting he never touched Jill.” She dabbed at her eyes with the tissue. “I’m sorry I messed up our morning with all this drama.”

Daphne shrugged. “It happens, Paige. That’s what friends are for.”

“I guess.” Paige played with her phone. “I think I want to just go to my mom’s and get my things, and maybe restart this day.”

“Okay. Want me to drive you?”

“Um… I think I’d rather be alone, if you don’t mind.”

“You won’t be able to carry all that stuff on the bus. Here.” Daphne took a key off her ring. “Take my car. I’m planning on hanging around campus today, so I won’t need it.”

[fluffysmom]

I feel so bad for Chloe and Daniel and Parker. Daniel and the doctor aren't helping Chloe with their bickering.

Bev is in trouble now.

I wonder if Paige will run into Jill at the apartment.

[Kpatch]

Daphne is such a good friend to Debbie Downer. I mean Paige.

I wish Chloe and Daniel wouldn't be so resistant to Dr. Collins' plan for Parker.

Bev is in serious trouble! I don't even like the character, except that you gave her a soul, heroicmuse; she's not a cartoon character in this story and I want her to be safe.