STORY: Adjustments, part 12 of ? (It's a long one LOL)
FANDOM: Remember WENN
AUTHOR: Michele Savage (1998)
RATING: NC-17, M/F, hurt/comfort
SUMMARY: After Hilary is brutally attacked and left for dead, she and Jeff
have some healing to do.
SETTING: 1942, Pittsburgh
FEEDBACK: Would be muchly appreciated. :-)
ARCHIVE: Hetsketeers. (anywhere else, let me know before archiving
please.), Sockii, this can be archived at Rest Is Silence too. :-)
DISCLAIMER: Remember WENN and its characters are copyright Rupert Holmes,
Howard Meltzer and AMC. No infringement is intended. The story is mine as
are any original characters.



         After the baby was born, Jeff insisted that Hilary stay home as 
long as she needed. Still leery of leaving her alone, Jeff sent either 
Scott or Mackie, whichever of the two not on the air, to stay with her 
until he was no longer needed. It was as Hilary put it, "a ridiculous waste 
of energy and gasoline", and soon she had convinced Jeff to just take them 
to work with him.

         She'd begun to spend her time in the green room piling magazines 
atop each other and using them as weights to build the strength of her arm. 
It was archaic, but it worked. After nearly a month she was able to hold 
Anjeanette with her right arm long enough to feed her.

         Finally, Hilary felt her life had begun to return to some 
normalcy. She was overcoming obstacles one by one. Each wall she passed was 
a milestone and a cause for celebration. Just two days earlier she'd 
passed, what she considered to be a major hurdle. Maple had just started an 
episode of The Hands of Time when a winter flu bug caught up with her and 
she had to quickly leave the studio.

         Betty was in the middle of typing a script and had no idea 
anything was wrong, Gertie was on the phone and Eugenia was playing the 
organ. After hearing the hesitation in Jeff as he scrambled to find an 
explanation for the suddenly departed Elizabeth, Hilary, without thinking, 
dashed into the studio.

         Surprised to see her, Jeff stood motionless until he realized she 
was trying to ask him where they were. He pointed to the line and she read 
it. They had gotten through the rest of the show and were cleared by Lester 
before Hilary realized her instincts had taken over.

         "I did it!" She mumbled and looked around. Betty, Maple, and Scott 
here standing outside the studio doors with smiles on their faces. Maple 
was giving her a 'thumbs up' sign.

         Mr. Foley and Eugenia were standing hand in hand and Foley handed 
his fiancee a handkerchief. Lester was smiling widely, resting his chin on 
his hand.

         She looked into Jeffrey's eyes and saw proud tears filling them. 
"I did it, pumpkin." She whispered, "I did it."

         Jeff swept her into a bear hug, mindful of her arm, and lifted her 
off the floor. "Yes you did, darling! You certainly did."


         After that, Hilary worked her way back onto the air slowly. She 
didn't want to overdo things. Several of her fans had called the station 
expressing their gladness that she was back on the air. Those calls did 
wonders to bolster her confidence.

         Anjeanette also had done wonders to bolster her confidence. Now 
instead of being woken from a nightmare it was from a hungry cry. Lately as 
she sat near the nursery window in the rocking chair Jeffrey had given her, 
she stared out the window toward O'Malley's. Would she ever be able to go 
back there again?

         Joe and Rosie had come by the station numerous times to see the 
baby. But one day, Hilary had vowed she would be able to bring the baby to 
them. It was just that every time she looked toward that end of the street, 
her stomach tied into knots and she felt a cold dread.

         It was akin to passing the troll on the bridge. Someday she'd be 
able to defeat the monster that kept her from her friends. Someday. But not 
today.

         Each night once Anjeanette had been fed and changed, she would sit 
in front of the window, rock, and fill her little Angel in on all the 
details of the family she'd been born into. She told her about how she and 
Jeff had met, how they ended up in Pittsburgh, how much WENN meant to her. 
That last part, she'd never told a soul, but Anjeanette had promised to 
keep her secret. So had Jeff who'd overheard then quietly slipped back into 
bed.


         "Jeffrey, I'd like to take a vacation." Hilary surprised him with 
one early December day in the green room.

         "A vacation? Hilary it's in the middle of winter and there is a 
war going on." Jeff reminded, "Where would we go?"

         "I don't know, but I think getting away from here for even a 
weekend would do me, do US, a world of good." She insisted.

         "What about Angel?"

         "I've already spoken to Maple. She said she'd love to keep her for 
us."

         "What about work?"

         "I've spoken to Scott and Betty. They cleared us for a week."

         "Why do I get the feeling you've already got this trip planned?"

         She gave Jeff her most demurely innocent smile.

         He sighed and gave in. "Where are we going?"

         "Casa de Siesta." She said almost questioningly.

         "Matamo-- Mexico?!" He repeated surprised. "Hilary-"

         "Darling, it's all been arranged. I wanted to go to someplace safely
familiar. Someplace important to us." She explained, "I need to get 'us' back."

         "How did you arrange this?"

         "Scott-"

         "Nevermind, I don't want to know." Jeff interrupted her. "When are 
we leaving?"

         "Two days after Christmas."

         "For our anniversary." Jeff realized. He pulled her into an embrace.

         "I wanted to go back to the beginning," she whispered against his 
shoulder. "Inauspicious though it may be," she added with a giggle.

         Jeff chuckled along with her, "anything for you my dear."


         Their day of departure came quickly. As it came time to go to the 
airport, Hilary was very hesitant to leave Anjeanette alone for a week. She 
went over every detail with Maple several times before Jeff finally pulled 
her out of the station. On his way out Jeff turned to the exasperated 
red-head and asked her if she was sure she had everything.

         "Go!" She laughed, "before you both make me crazy. Angel and I 
will have a great week."


         The plane ride was smooth, thankfully a winter storm had passed 
leaving sparkling white snow on the ground and clear skies in the air. Once 
they got to Mexico though the weather was warm and sunny.

         As she stepped from the plane, Hilary took a deep breath. "It 
feels so good." She then turned, "I should call Maple to see how-"

         "Hilary. She's fine." Jeff interrupted and ushered her into the 
terminal so they could retrieve their luggage.

         A courtesy cab was waiting to take them to the Casa de Siesta. 
They stepped into it and soon were on their way. They checked in and were 
greeted by the rotund and overly friendly owner. He hugged Hilary and shook 
Jeff's hand. Then with a wink he asked if they were getting married again.

         Hilary gave him a humored laugh. "No, no. I think the third time 
was the charm."

         The man pursed his lips, "Third time?"

         Jeff moved quickly before Hilary could wrap her hands around the 
man's neck. He gently moved her aside and stepped between the two. "The 
second time wasn't exactly legal."

         The man looked surprised, "Padre Michael no padre?" Then a 
surprised look passed over his features. He slapped his forehead, "Aye mi 
cabesa! Many apologies. He was Padre for many years. He married you first 
time. I completely forgot he no longer marry."

         Hilary raised her eyebrow as the man quickly spoke in a mixture of 
Spanish and broken English.

         "I hope it was not giving you trouble." The man added in a 
concerned tone.

         Hilary started laughing. She couldn't help herself. She had no 
idea why that certain moment was hysterical to her, but it was funny. 
Between laughs she mumbled, "You have no idea."

         The man must have caught a meaning behind her laughter, "Oh it 
did. I'm apologizing. Wait, you stay a week, si? It's on me."

         Hilary stopped laughing, "No! No, you needn't worry."

         "It wasn't your fault Senior Roja," Jeff assured, "really."

         "Yes," Hilary spoke up and pointed to Jeff, "it was his."

         "Mine?" He turned to her, "What do you mean mine? You were just as 
anxious
as I was to get remarried."

         "I'm talking about your Czech--"

         "Don't start that," Jeff interrupted, "that part of our lives is 
closed and done."

         "Yes I know. I just drag it out of the trunk every so often to 
needle you." Hilary replied.

         Jeff gave her a frustrated growl, "Hil--"

         Senior Roja laughed and put his arm around both their waists, 
hugging them close to him, "We have missed you two around here."

         The jolly man moved then, "You wait here. I be back un momento."

         They stood and looked at each other in amused confusion. Jeff 
answered the question in Hilary's eyes with a shrug.

         "While he's gone, let me call Maple." Hilary said as she pointed 
to a telephone in the lobby.

         "Darling, why don't you wait until we get into our room. That way 
we don't have to reverse the charges."

         "All right. I just wonder how Anjeanette is doing," Hilary admitted.

         "Mittens as soon as we get into the room you can call." Jeff told 
her as he brushed a flyaway hair behind her ear. "Why don't you try to get 
your mind off her for a second. Give me hell about Pavla. I know you love 
doing that."

         She smiled coquettishly, "It's no fun when you are expecting it."

         Senior Roja interrupted Jeff's reply when he arrived with their 
room keys. "Here, I checked your room, she is available." He ushered them 
through the large lobby and onto the large patio. He handed Jeff the keys 
and pointed past the pool to a group of cabanas. "You know the one," he 
said and waved them on their way. "Go."

to be continued ...
Biz

Bizarra@infinet.com