Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 252,107 times)

[Kpatch]

Marissa's parents don't know it was her!

That was an amusing interaction Nicole had with the security guard.

I wonder what Hope is planning to find out from Marlena.

This story is so good heroicmuse. I am so hooked.

[heroicmuse]

Thank you Kpatch!

I thought after all the tension surrounding Parker, we needed some comic relief. I had a lot of fun writing Nicole's scene.

Previews for next week will be up tomorrow

[fluffysmom]

I'm looking forward to the previews heroicmuse.

[heroicmuse]

PREVIEWS

-Chloe and Daniel each deal with the news, or try to.
-Someone doesn't think Nicole belongs in Parker's room.
-Bev and JJ just aren't communicating well.
-Paige issues an ultimatum to her mother after a confrontation
-Hope’s consultation with Marlena may be productive in more ways than one
-Someone gets upset by something overheard, while another puts themselves in danger with intentional snooping

[fluffysmom]

Intriguing previews heroicmuse. Looks like an interesting week ahead.

[heroicmuse]

Parker had woken up and asked for a story, but there weren’t any books in his room. Jen took out her tablet and found a story online for him. “This was JJ’s favorite when he was a little boy,” she said and began reading The Little Engine That Could to him. Parker’s eyes began to close again, but she kept reading.

”The little engine climbed and climbed,” Jen read.

”At last she reached the top of the mountain,” Chloe finished from the doorway, her voice full of tears. She sniffed as she came in. Jen put her tablet away and stood up. Chloe said, “He loves trains. But I guess you know that.” She came over to the bed and just looked at her son.

Jen wanted to put her hand on Chloe’s shoulder, but wasn’t sure if it would be welcome, so she just stood behind her and said, softly, “What did Kayla say?”

“That she was sorry.” Chloe blinked back tears. “That he… something’s wrong with his heart. There are all sorts of fancy medical terms for it that I’m sure Daniel can explain if he ever gets back here, but basically his little heart is giving out, and it has been since… since he was born but nobody saw it....” Her shoulders shook.

Jennifer’s eyes widened. “Oh, Chloe, I’m so sorry.” She watched as Chloe took a rosary out of her purse. Chloe made the sign of the cross over Parker and just stood there, holding her rosary, her mouth moving silently, praying, while tears rolled down her face.

“Chloe?” Jen said. “They said they could fix it, didn’t they? There has to be medication or something they can do for him.”

“I… I don’t know… they were talking about he needs this test and that test but I couldn’t…” Chloe swallowed hard. “Where the hell is Daniel?” she demanded. “He should be with his son while he… while he still can be, but instead he leaves Parker with us while he goes to do who knows what!”

“He’ll be here,” Jen reassured her. “Daniel… has to process this in his own way. He won’t come in here until he can pull himself together enough to make it look like everything’s fine.”



In his office, Daniel moved the mouse around to wake up his computer so he could do some research into Parker’s condition, but it gave him that hourglass showing that it was thinking, then the mouse froze.

“Come on!” Daniel said under his breath. He hit the reset button on the computer hard to reboot it. His anger grew as he waited; he pushed a bunch of files off his desk.

A picture dropped to the floor. Daniel picked it up; it was a picture of him and Parker from last Christmas, when Chloe had dropped him off for a surprise visit. Daniel blinked back tears as he looked at it.

The door opened; a shadow fell across the room. Daniel looked up at Nicole, who was standing in the doorway. “I guess the news you got about Parker isn’t good,” she said softly, coming all the way into the room.


“Everything’s not fine!” Chloe paced around the room. “That heart doctor said she didn’t want to scare us until she knew more, what does that mean? Does it mean that Parker could, that he’s going to…” She turned back to her son and began smoothing out his blanket.

“You know,” Jen said, “I don’t know what it means either, and I’m probably the last person you want to hear this from, but don’t let yourself even think that. That sweet little boy needs to know that he’s going to feel better again, and if you let yourself believe that he doesn’t have a chance, he will pick up on it.”

“LIke you know anything about dealing with a… a very ill child. Your son’s self-destructive habits aren’t the same thing. Those are chosen. This is… this is not.”

Jen bit her lip. “I’m going to let that go because I know how upset you are. But before my son was born, I was told I’d be lucky if he ever walked or said a word or even smiled at me. And I did my best to act like he was fine, like he was going to be just fine. I know that Parker’s condition is more serious than what they said JJ’s would be, but if you want him to get better, you have to cling to every tiny sliver of hope that his heart is going to keep beating and that he is going to make a full recovery.”


“That serious, huh?” Nicole said after Daniel had told her. “I’m sorry. I… I don’t know what to say.”

“I’ve been on this side of the desk so many times, Nicole,” Daniel said, “looking patients in the eye, giving them bad news mixed in with whatever tiny little pieces of hope I could dig up. I always… I always hurt for them, always looked to see if there was just one more thing I could do to help. But I never, Nicole, I never expected to be on the other side, and from here… those little bits of hope… they just seem like nothing.” His voice cracked and he blinked back tears. “I shouldn’t even be here right now. I should… I should be in that room with my son and his mother… but I couldn’t… I needed… I needed time and…”

“And you needed me.” Nicole fixed Daniel’s collar for him. “That offer of a shoulder to cry on, it still stands. Cause honestly…” it was her turn to fight the tears welling up in her eyes. “...with what’s going on with Parker I need one too.” She took a deep breath. “But, it’s not about me right now. For once, I get to be the pillar of strength that holds you up instead of the other way around.” She put her arms around him and hugged him, but he pulled away.

“Chloe was beside herself,” Daniel said, “and I...I did nothing.”

“What’d you think you could do? Even you can’t make Parker better overnight or erase Chloe’s pain over it… or your own.”

“I should have… I gotta go be with her, make sure she’s okay.”

“I’ll come with you.”

Daniel sighed. “I don’t know whether that’s a good idea. Chloe, she’s pretty private and...”

“Hey. That speech I just gave you wasn’t just words. I meant it. Besides, this is a family emergency, and as far as I’m concerned, you’re family.” Nicole tried to smile. “So what do you say, Jonas? Will you lean on me this one time?”

Daniel nodded. “Yeah,” he said, his voice hoarse. “I will.”

[fluffysmom]

Wow! This is a tearjerker. I really like Nicole being there for Daniel. Jennifer being there for Chloe was unexpected and kinda perfect.

I can't wait for more heroicmuse.

[Kpatch]

That's sweet of Nicole to want to be there for Daniel, but I think he needs to talk to Chloe privately first. They have not had a chance to talk, just the two of them.

[heroicmuse]

When JJ slid into his seat across from Bev, she glared at him.

“Sorry I’m late,” JJ said. “I got caught up in something.”

“It’s bad enough Rory flaked on me and sent you in his place, but now I have to set foot in the library?” Bev practically spat the word.

“I thought you two were supposed to be studying.”

Bev rolled her eyes. “Here’s an idea. Skip the attitude and get to the point. Where’s Rory?”

“He couldn’t make it.”

“I know that.” Bev crossed her arms. “Wait a second… this is some cute trick by the two of you so that you can hook up with me now that you’ve dumped that sad sack, isn’t it?”

“Bev, no. It’s - “

“It’s too late, JJ. I’m not going to be your leftovers anymore. I’ve moved on with someone who treats me right.”

“You mean Cole.”

Bev’s eyes flashed. “Cole is none of your business! Now call Rory and tell him to get his ass over here! This has gone far enough.”

“I can’t do that, Bev,” JJ said quietly. Bev gave him the look of death and he said. “No, really, I can’t. Rory’s in jail.”

“That’s not funny, JJ.” Bev picked up her phone. “I’m going to call him right now and tell him that this joke has gone too far.”

“No, really.” JJ sighed. “They cuffed him right in front of me, and I’m just lucky they didn’t take me too. They thought he was the psycho who’s been attacking people in the dorms cause - “

“Cause he tied up the guy who tried to attack him,” Bev finished.

JJ stared at her. “How did you know?”

“I hear things. There’s rumors all over campus if you bother to listen.”

JJ glared at her. “You’d better hope that’s all it is,” he said quietly.

“Come on, JJ, I know there’s been bad blood between us or whatever, but don’t you know anything at all about me?” She bit her lip. “Look, someone set Rory up.”

“No kidding.” JJ crossed his arms.

“No, listen.” Bev’s eyes rolled up to the top of her head while she figured out what to say. “I-I was in the woods… and I… I heard…” she blinked hard. “Look, there was a reason Rory was in the woods at the same time as the robber, okay? Someone...else chose him. On purpose I mean.”

JJ stared at her. “It was your new boyfriend Cole, wasn’t it?” He crossed his arms.

“Please, JJ.” Bev blinked hard. “I can’t say any more, don’t make me…”

“Bev,” JJ said quietly, “if he was involved and you knew about it…”

“I didn’t.” Bev’s eyes were wide with fear. “Look, JJ, there are things you don’t understand about me and Cole, okay? You’ve been out of the loop since you took up with that loser Paige, and… and now you think you have the right to judge me?” She got up. “It’s over, JJ. If you think I would ever do anything to hurt Rory on purpose, then the guy I once was in love with… he’s long gone.” She pushed away from the table. “Don’t you dare contact me again,” she said, “or you’ll be sorry.” She ran off.


Rafe was already in the interrogation room when a uniform brought Rory in. Rory stared at Rafe and said, “What’s the big idea, man? I thought we’d been through this, and you got that I didn’t rob anybody.”

“Oh, I believe you,” Rafe said, gesturing towards the empty seat. The uniform sat Rory down. “But you still have that marijuana possession charge hanging over your head. So I thought, maybe if we go over it again, you can remember something that helps us catch this loser, and then I can do something to try to make that charge go away.” He glanced up at the uniform. “Uncuff him please, and give us some privacy.”

The uniform did as he was told. Rory rubbed his wrists as Rafe leaned forward. “Now, let’s start from the beginning. You were in the woods, you had your back to him. Did you hear anything?”

“Just the sound of this girl locking lips with a loser. Too bad he’s not the one who attacked me. I’d love to put him away for good.”

“This loser have a name?” Rafe asked. “Or the girl?”

“Yeah, but they can’t back up my story. All they’re into is each other.”

Rafe sighed. “Look, if we’re not gonna get anywhere, I’m gonna have to put those cuffs back on you and have you escorted to your cell right now. Now I want you to think carefully about anything you can tell me that might actually be useful.”

Rory bit his lip. “I’m trying, man, but how do I know what’s useful and what’s not? Look, if I give out Cole’s name, he’s just gonna make my life miserable. Can’t you pin something on him anyway?”

Rafe wrote something down. “You notice anything during the attack itself? Any unusual smells, the sound of his voice, anything like that?”

“Um…”

“It doesn’t have to be anything big. Just anything that comes to mind.”

Rory’s eyes widened. “He… dude, he was wearing brand new gloves! I… he grabbed me, right, and… I thought, he smells like a new car. And another thing, man. His arms gotta be all bruised up cause I… I had the moves, dude, and I used them to get him off me.”

Rafe took his time with his notes in case Rory remembered anything else.”You tied him up after you got free of him?” he asked.

“You gonna jam me up for that too?” Rafe shook his head and Rory said, “Okay, then. He had a roll of duct tape. When I got the upper hand, I grabbed it, and I just wrapped it around his arms and legs. I figured it’d keep him there a good long while, yunno, so he could think about what he did.” Rory laughed bitterly. “I guess I was a little too buzzed, man, cause from the sound of it he got free pretty quick.”

“Sounds like you did what you had to do to protect yourself,” Rafe said. “Listen, one last thing. When you were taping him up, did you happen to get a look at him?”

“Not a real good one,” Rory said. “It was real dark in those woods. I guess that’s why he struck there. Anyway, all I got is dark hair and his eyes… dude, those eyes were freaky. I don’t mean, like, when you’re coked out and your eyes get real big. They were, like, all gray and… I dunno, just something about the way he looked at me gave me the creeps, dude.” Rory shuddered, but recovered, grinning broadly. “That good enough to get me out of here?”

“Hopefully. I’ll put in a call to the DA right now and see what she wants to do.”

[fluffysmom]

I hope Rory's info will help Rafe find the real culprit. Looks like Bev could be in some serious trouble.

[heroicmuse]

Oh yeah...this is just the beginning of Bev's trouble...

[Kpatch]

I wonder if Rory even realized he said Cole's name to Rafe. I hope the information he gave Rafe is good enough.

[gapeach]

Just got caught up! This is a great story and I can't wait to see what happens next!!

[unavitasegreta]

Why is Bev not a major character on the show like here? I'm curious about what is going on with her! I hope she's not into something bad!

Rafe does seem to believe Rory, but is he putting on an act just to get information. I hope Rory's info helps!

Can't wait to see what happens next!!

[heroicmuse]

Jill was gone by the time Eve and Daphne came out, holding a box each. “You girls all done?” Eve asked brightly, but Paige could tell she was rattled. Her mother’s smile was too wide and she had a weird look in her eyes.

“For now,” Daphne said. “Paige still has to decide what she can let go of.” She turned towards Paige. “Come on, let’s put these in the car.”

“I’ll be there in a minute. I just want to say good night to my mom.” Daphne hesitated but Paige said, “I’m coming. I promise.”

As soon as Daphne left, Eve said, “What’s left in your room? Maybe I could go through it while - “

“It’s fine, Mom.”

“Well, all right, baby, but I thought since you’re so eager to move to the dorms…”

“Stop it.” Paige crossed her arms. “Mom, what was that girl doing here?”

“What girl?”

“Don’t do that. I saw her. And I know who she is, so don’t play dumb either.”

“Now, is that any way to talk to your mother, Paige? I admit, I’m not exactly happy that you’ve decided to move into the center of a crime wave, but I am trying my hardest to make the best out of it. I know that you were upset that you saw that ad, and believe me, I feel terrible that I didn’t get a chance to talk to you about it first, but sweetheart, that’s no reason to be rude, now is it?”

Paige took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m sorry. But Mom, I know who that girl is. I know you don’t like hearing it, but she’s a big part of what went wrong between me and JJ. So I hope she’s not going to be your new roommate or whatever, because I plan to come back to see you all the time, and I can’t do that if she’s here.”

Eve looked scared for a fraction of a second, but she hid it well, saying only, “Of course she’s not. Look, I don’t know who that girl is, but I don’t like her. Besides, you saw her condition. Do you think I want some girl here who’s about to pop out a baby? There’s hardly enough room in your bedroom for one person, sweetheart, so there’s no way we can fit a crib and a carriage in there. Besides, I’m too old to be changing diapers, and you know a girl like that isn’t going to do a thing for her baby herself.”

“So Jill’s not moving in?”

“Is that her name? I didn’t even catch it.”

Paige put her hands on her hips.

“No, baby, you don’t have to worry. You will never see her when you come over.”

Paige’s phone buzzed. “That’s Daphne,” she said, “getting impatient. You’d better hope you got rid of that Jill, Mom, because if I see her when I come to visit you… well, I don’t know what I’ll do. Now good night.”

“Wait,” Eve said as Paige picked up her box. “You’re not… you’re not staying here until your things are all moved?”

“I took all my bedroom and bathroom stuff,” Paige said. “But I’ll be back tomorrow, Mom, while Daphne’s in class. I promise.”

“Well, don’t I at least rate a hug before you disappear out the door?”

Paige sighed. She put her box down again and said, “Of course, Mom.” She hugged her tight, but as they pulled away, she said, “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about Jill, though. I mean it, Mom. If she takes over my room, it’s like a slap in the face.”

“I understand, honey. Don’t worry. The last thing I want is to hurt you.”

There was a knock on the door and Daphne said, “Paige, we gotta go! Come on!”

Paige picked up her box and went out the door without another word. Eve watched her get in the elevator with Daphne. Daphne said something that made Paige laugh, then the elevator door closed. Eve closed her own door and sunk into the couch. “You had better not ruin everything for me, Jill!” she said aloud. She flipped through her phone, thinking hard. “I have to find some way to neutralize you.”


Chloe stood over Parker’s bed, watching him sleep, putting her hand to her mouth to fight the tears she was tired of crying.

“Why don’t I give you some space?” Jennifer said softly. “I’m sure Daniel will be back soon, and I can’t imagine anything better for Parker to see when he wakes up again than his mom.”

“Thanks,” Chloe said.

Chloe ran her hands through Parker’s hair as Jen left. He opened his eyes and smiled at her. “Mommy!” he said. “You came!”

“Of course I did, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”

Parker sat up. “No more dizzy,” he said, grinning broadly. Chloe forced herself to smile back.

“Get up?” Parker asked.

Chloe didn’t have the energy to tell him to talk like a big boy the way she usually did when he tried those baby sentences with her. “Um,” she said, “We’ll ask Daddy if it’s a good idea when he comes back, okay?” Parker pouted and she said, “How about… I sing you a song instead?”

“Okay.”

Chloe closed her eyes as she began to sing to him from some Broadway play. Daniel and Nicole came into the doorway behind her, but Daniel put his fingers on his lips and waited until Chloe had finished before coming into the room.

“Daddy!” Parker said.

Chloe turned to greet him, frowning. “Well, look what the cat dragged in,” she said. “What were the two of you doing that was so much more important than dealing with our son’s health?”


“Thanks for meeting me,” Hope said. They were sitting in Marlena’s office talking during one of Marlena’s breaks. “I know you have a full case load, but I didn’t know where else to turn, and I thought you might be able to help.”

“Of course. What can I do for you, Hope?”

“We really aren’t getting anywhere with this case. The victims are too traumatized to remember many details, and anyway the guy attacks from behind.”

“I see. Were you hoping I could give you a psychological profile of the robber?”

“That might help, but actually, I was wondering if you thought that hypnotizing the victims would be able to yield details that they can’t consciously remember. Anything they saw or heard might give us a lead we can work with to shut the perp down before he hurts anyone else.”

“Well,” Marlena said, “hypnosis can certainly elicit those types of details. I would be concerned, though, about whether the victims are strong enough to handle it. Even though I would take care to make sure they don’t remember anything consciously after the session, the process itself could be unnecessarily traumatizing. You see, hypnosis requires a certain surrender of control. The patient has to trust me absolutely in order to accept being put into a hypnotic trance in the first place. For victims of violent crime, that can be an upsetting proposition. The crime itself triggers feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness, so they may want to hold onto whatever bit of control they have.”

“So that’s a no go then.”

“Not necessarily. Some victims may be in a place where they can handle it. If not, there’s another technique we can use, called cognitive re-enactment. Basically, what we would do is have the victims re-enact the scene, with one of your officers playing the role of the attacker. The idea is that by re-living the traumatic scene in a safer context, the victim may remember something that he or she blocked out of conscious awareness. It might even be helpful to their healing as well, as they are totally in control of the activity.” Hope nodded and Marlena said, “Talk to each of your victims and see if you can get them to consent to a short interview with me. I’ll decide which option is healthier for them and we’ll take it from there.”

“Thanks Marlena.”

“Oh and Hope?” Marlena said as Hope got up. “I have absolutely no doubt that you will find this criminal. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t remind you not to lose perspective. This is only one part of your life. Make sure you’re keeping it in balance, both for your own sake and for that of your child.”

Hope looked puzzled, but she nodded.