Episode 171

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Episode 171

Scene 1:

Josh scribbled the last of his notes and slammed the chart closed. He dropped it with an angry burst of energy onto the stack of finished charts. He'd forgotten this part of being a hospital doctor. Endless paperwork to cover your ass. Exhaling loudly, he reached for the phone to call home. He planned on stopping at the nearest bar and getting himself a good drink before heading home to Honey. Might as well tell her so she wouldn't worry, he decided dialing their new phone number.

There was a knock on his office door just as the phone began to ring on the other end. "Come in," he called gruffly annoyed with the interruption. Honey poked her head into his office, smiling widely.

"Am I interrupting anything?" She asked innocently.

"Yes, I'm calling my wife," Josh replied with a mock frown. He replaced the phone and held his arms out to her. Honey dropped the shopping bag she had in her hands on the couch and slid onto his lap happily. Her arms encircled his neck and she leaned in for a kiss.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to hearing that," she murmured pulling back from their kiss. "Wife. It sounds so..."

"What? Sounds so awful?" Josh teased.

"No! God no. It sounds so wonderful. I mean when we first met, I didn't think you were the marrying kind. But you sure surprised me."

"I surprised myself, Honey." He hugged her tightly. He didn't add that he had proposed praying that she would turn him down. He loved her all right, but marriage was not something he had wanted to try again after the disaster of his first marriage. Shaking the memories of that awful time of his life loose, he asked instead, "So what have you been up to today?"

"Well, I finished unpacking and putting everything where it should go. But we were still missing a lot of things that we needed. And I know I said I didn't care, but I thought we could use some new towels and maybe a new salad bowl..."

"So you went shopping? Well that's all right. Will I like what you bought?"

"I think so," Honey blushed, glancing at the bag on the couch. Josh raised an eyebrow enjoying her embarrassment. "I mean I doubt you'll think twice about the house stuff but there is this one thing I bought that I think you might like."

"Well, then I can't wait to see it." She blushed a deeper shade of red gazing at him with a look of pure adoration. "So think you know you're way around town yet?"

"Oh yes! There's something else I should tell you. I got a job."

"What?" Josh's good mood vanished. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't work for a while."

"Josh, you said that not me. I never agreed to that. Besides, I'll get so bored without something to do... I promise when we start our family I won't work."

She looked so earnest; Josh didn't have the heart to tell him that he didn't care about children. In fact, if truth be told, he would rather not have them. He just wasn't father material. Honey was definitely a mother without a baby but he couldn't even think about it. Instead, he furrowed his brow and tried not to look so annoyed that she would ignore his wishes.

"I just thought it was my turn to pay the bills for a while. I mean you paid for everything in New Orleans."

"Because I love you and I wanted to. And you want to take your turn now because you love me," she added without a correction from Josh. "But I can't be one of those women who stay at home and do stupid things because they're bored. That's not me."

"I know it isn't you, Honey," Josh began trying to explain. "But I owe this to you."

Honey took his face in her hands and shook her own head. "No, you don't owe me a thing. This is what love is, Joshua Manning. Love isn't a game of IOU's. Love is give and take. I gave you what I had to offer in New Orleans. You've given me everything you possibly can too. Let me do this without getting into an argument, all right? It's just a stupid waitress job anyway."

"Where?" Josh demanded still not completely won over by Honey's talk of love.

"A diner called Connie's. It's downtown and it's family run."

"I know it. It's a good restaurant." He sighed heavily. "All right, I can't stop you anyway. Just promise me you'll only work a couple of shifts a week."

"I promise," Honey smiled crossing her heart like a child. "Now, are you done here? Because I was thinking we could stop by Connie's and pick up some dinner-"

The phone on his desk cut her off. "Hold that thought," he told her lifting the receiver. "Dr. Manning...yes...I'll be right there." He replaced the phone. "That was the ER Charge Nurse. I've got to get down there. Jamie's cousin is being brought into the ER."

Scene 2

Jamie paced the Emergency Room, his jaw set in a hard line. Chris sat in a chair kicking the floor with the heel of his shoe. For her part, Hallie sat next to Chris, looking stricken. They had arrived ahead of Gwen and Ellen. Jude was nowhere to be found. Of all the Masons, Dane was the nicest, the most liked by everyone. If anything could bring them altogether, this would.

He saw Josh bolt into the ER, his wife trailing behind him. Jamie stopped pacing and motioned to him. "He's in there with Mangold," he told Josh. "I want you to look after him."

"Jamie, Dan Mangold is a good doctor..." Josh began.

Jamie cut him off with a searing glare. "You. No one else." Josh nodded and hurried into the exam room. His wife touched Jamie's arm in a comforting manner.

"I'm sure he'll be all right," she said softly in her New Orleans drawl. "Josh is the best doctor in the world."

"I know. Thank you, Honey."

She nodded and turned her attention toward Hallie. "Does Hallie know your cousin?"

"Yes," Jamie replied letting a sad smile emerge. "Hallie's my cousin too. Dane is her brother."

"Oh no!" Honey exclaimed horrified. "I should go to her." She moved to Hallie and sat next to her, taking her hand in one fluid motion. To Jamie's surprise, Hallie didn't resist. Instead, she gripped Honey's hand in return and listened as Honey offered soothing words.

"Jamie!" Gwen's voice echoed in the hallway, small and afraid. "Is he all right? What's happened?" She demanded flinging herself at him. Everyone stared at the scene she was making. Chris looked away in embarrassment.

"He's been in an accident, Mother. That's all any of us know."

"My God! This is terrible. If he dies-"

"Don't say that!" Jamie snapped. "Josh Manning is in there with him. He'll be all right."

Ellen turned up a moment later, Ian in tow. He looked positively peeved at having to be present for anything related to the Masons. Falling off to the side, he stopped a nurse who was running from the trauma room towards the supply closet. They exchanged furtive whispers before he allowed her to continue. Ian glanced at Jamie and lifted his shoulders in a small shrug. No news.

Jamie began pacing again, watching the members of his family. The only one missing now was Jude and so far, no one had been able to get in touch with him. Gwen posted herself at the trauma room door, keeping an eye on the doctors and nurses in the room with Dane. Jamie paused by her side, laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Incompetent," Gwen murmured. "Look at them. None of them know what they're doing." Some things didn't change, he thought with a shake of his head. "Has anyone called Jude?"

"I left a message on his cell and at his office."

"Did you call Maura? She would know how to get in touch with him. You did make sure to tell him this had nothing to do with me, right?"

"Mother-" Jamie began. Josh emerged from the trauma room looking somber and ending all conversations. His eyes flicked to Hallie who sat rigid next to Honey.

"You should all hear this, I guess," he said motioning to Jamie to follow him. Hallie stiffened noticeably at Josh's approach and gripped Honey's hand. The movement went unnoticed by everyone but Josh and Jamie. "Hallie, I don't know if you remember me. I'm Josh Manning."

"I remember you. How is Dane?" Hallie demanded.

"Well, the good news is your brother is going to be just fine."

Hallie exhaled sharply but didn't release Honey's hand. "There is bad news too?"

"There is but it isn't so bad. Dane suffered a head trauma in the accident. He was alert and awake when he was brought in but he has lapsed into unconsciousness. We'll watch that but he should be all right. He's got some broken ribs and a lot of bruised muscles. No internal bleeding and no broken bones. He's very lucky."

"Can I see him?"

"Of course. He's being moved to Critical Care in a few minutes. Why don't you ride up with him?"

Hallie nodded and released her death grip on Honey. Gwen trailed after her leaving Chris and Jamie alone in the waiting room. Chris glanced up at Jamie with a mournful gaze. He was still in trouble but Jamie had no intention of continuing the lecture just now.

"Come on. I'll buy you a Coke in the cafeteria," Jamie offered. Chris' expression smoothed out and he nodded following Jamie to the elevator.

Scene 3

"That was a complete waste of time," Jude snapped throwing his raincoat over the coat rack in the inner office of the Drop's central building. He and Stephen had spent the afternoon slogging through muddy lots showing them to potential builders and come up empty handed. Rain was beginning to pour from the sky once again, making their lots that much worse for the next day. "I can't do this tomorrow, Stephen."

"There are still five parcels left to sell, Jude. If we don't sell at least three of them, we start operating at a loss," Stephen replied smoothing down his wet hair.

"Wait, I thought we had six parcels left."

Stephen grinned. "Five. I've bought one."

"When did you do this? No, why? Wait, which one?"

"The center lot," Stephen replied sounding pleased with himself. "Next to Tejera's Flamingo Club and Starbucks. I'm going to have something in this town no one else has. Not even your family."

"And what is that?"

"A luxury hotel." He smiled widely at the look on Jude's face. "Why not? Masons can't have everything in this town. And anyway, it's a perfect location. I couldn't let someone else take it."

There was a knock on the door interrupting them. "Mr. Fontaine?" Lois, the administrative assistant poked her head into the office. "Your brother called twice while you were out. There's been an accident."

"What?" Jude asked. His gut clenched in fear. Just let Maura be all right, he prayed. He could deal with anything but losing her. "What happened?"

"Your cousin was in a car accident. You missed the last call by ten minutes but he seems to be all right. Your family is waiting for you at the hospital. Would you like me to call Mr. Mason and let him know you're on the way?"

"It must be Dane," Jude mumbled. "Yes, please call him." He reached for his cell phone and turned it on. Jamie had called his cell three times. Maura had called twice. He dialed their home number. "It's me," he said when she answered. "I just got the message. I'm heading to the hospital right now. Do you want to meet me there? Okay, I'll come get you." He ended the call and reached for his coat.

"I hope everything is all right," Stephen commented walking to the elevator with Jude. "Give Jamie my best."

"I will. Thanks Stephen." Jude pressed the down button. "Maybe you could come with me? I'm sure Hallie could use the support."

"She's got her family. I'd just get in the way," Stephen replied his eyes clouding. "But if you want, tell her that I hope Dane's all right."

The doors snicked open and woman carrying a large portfolio stumbled off the elevator. Jude sidestepped her and hurried onto the elevator as the doors closed. The woman dropped her bag at Stephen's feet and fumbled with an umbrella.

"Do you need some help?" He asked bending to pick up her purse.

"Oh, yes. Thank you!" She replied in a crisp British accent. "I'm looking for Stephen Roth. You wouldn't happen to know where he would be do you?"

"I hope so. I'm Stephen Roth."

"Oh!" She dropped the portfolio on her foot, wincing slightly. "I'm sorry, I'm just a fright. I'm Rebecca Rose. We have an appointment?"

"You're the designer. Here let me take that." He hefted her portfolio and motioned toward his office door. "Lois will take your coat. Would you like some coffee?"

"I would love some tea if you have it," Rebecca replied. She shrugged out of her coat. She ran slender fingers through her hair, pushing wet curls out of her eyes. "Rain never does good things for this head of mine."

"You look lovely," he replied sincerely.

Catching Stephen’s eye, she offered him a genuine smile. "Thank you for the compliment Mr. Roth. I can assure you, it isn’t always this messy. Sometimes, it’s worse."

He laughed at her little joke, noting to himself that it was the first time he had smiled or laughed in a while. Impulsively, he reached for his coat. "Are you hungry, Miss Rose? It is Miss isn’t it?"

"Yes, I prefer Rebecca though."

"Fine, Rebecca. Beautiful name by the way. Are you hungry? There’s a new Asian restaurant I have been dying to try. We could have our meeting there...unless you’d prefer we stay here in this dull office and drink tea."

"That’s not a very easy choice for this English girl, Mr. Roth. But if you like, I think I can manage to spend an hour with you in a restaurant."

Scene 4

Dane was dreaming. Or at least he thought he was. How else could he explain the two figures standing over his bed arguing? They were dressed in old-fashioned clothing and spoke in the distinct accent of rural Virginia. The man was swarthy, with dark eyes that snapped with intelligence and a full moustache that overwhelmed his face. The woman was petite and blonde with delicate hands and a porcelain complexion.

"This is a calamity!" The man snapped staring down at Dane.

"As usual, Thomas Jency, you are overreacting. This is not a calamity," the woman replied in even tones. "The girl is nowhere near here right now."

"But she will be!" Thomas returned. "She is employed here. Eventually, they will see each other. Surely, even you can see that, Amanda."

"Why would they? They’ve gone nearly four years in the same city without meeting, why should they meet now all of a sudden? Besides, do you honestly think I would allow Dane to be tied to one your kin? I wouldn’t allow it with James and I won’t allow it now."

"James Mason would have done just fine with Isabelle," Thomas spluttered at Amanda’s declaration. "If you hadn’t interfered, we could have been free. But you had to stick your nose in and muck it all up."

Amanda put her hands on her hips indignantly. "I saved James for his true love. I don’t see anything wrong with that."

"If you think James was happy with that harpy, Gwen, you’re blind."

"He was happy! They had a good family."

"Sure," Thomas replied waving her off. "She only kept one of his children from him. The man never even knew his eldest son."

"He did! He knew Jude...oh shut up. Your family is no better than the Masons. Look at that maniac nephew of yours. Max Jency is a nosy busybody with nothing better to do than mess with other people’s lives."

"Some people like him." Amanda threw him a skeptical glare. Thomas frowned and added, "I like him! Can we get back to the situation at hand? How are we going to keep him from meeting Rachel?"

"Why should we? After all, if they do meet and fall in love, the curse is over, Thomas. Don’t you want to be free of this earth and me after all this time?" She asked her tone softening.

"I wanted to be free forty years ago when James Mason met Isabelle Allen. But you had different ideas," he reminded her. "I wanted to be free 30 years ago when Corrine Mason met Will Jency but you wouldn’t let that one happen either."

"If Corrine had married Will Jency, this town wouldn’t...well it wouldn’t be what it is today. If Corrine hadn’t married Philip Lennox, he wouldn’t be here."

Thomas rolled his eyes. "There is no way you could have known that in 1970."

"Oh what difference does it make?" Amanda snapped in exasperation. "The fact of the matter is we have the perfect opportunity to end this curse and be at peace. Why not take it?"

"I’ll tell you why. Because we’ve had more than one opportunity and each time you’ve interfered." He shook his finger at her. "You interfered. Not me. Well, this time, I don’t plan to let it happen. Let’s see how you like seeing an opportunity pass you by."

Dane stirred, getting tired of the argument. "What happened?" He mumbled trying to lift himself to a sitting position.

"Now, you’ve done it," Amanda hissed. "Get some rest, Dane. Your life as you know it is about to change forever," she whispered to Dane before blurring to a wisp and disappearing.

"I hate that woman," Thomas muttered before disappearing himself from the room.

Dane placed a hand to his head, feeling the bandage there. What had happened? An accident, that’s right. He’d been in an accident. He’d hit his head and was in the hospital. That would explain the dream of Thomas and Amanda. But where had he come up with them and why had it seemed so real? He was still holding his head and staring blankly at the door when it opened suddenly. A woman with a mane of chocolate brown curls and dark eyes stumbled into the room. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of him.

"Oh! I didn’t know anyone was in here!" She exclaimed. "I’m so sorry. I was just looking for..." She trailed off looking puzzled. "Well, I don’t remember what I was looking for. I’m sorry," she added and started to back out of the room.

"No wait," Dane called after her. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Would you look in the hall and see if there is anyone out there?" He asked feeling sheepish. Of course it was a dream but it didn’t hurt to be sure. The woman shrugged and looked in the hall as requested.

"Empty. Were you looking for someone?"

Dane shook his head, the dream beginning to fade from memory. "No. No one. But now that you’re here, maybe I’ve found someone after all."