The first thing Dakota saw when he arrived home yesterday was his son.
It hits him how fast Slade really is growing. Sometimes Dakota thinks it may be time to cut back on some of his work hours. Between him, Joey and Jillian, they do well financially. He doesn’t want to miss everything in his son’s life. He wants to be the kind of Dad for Slade that he never had growing up.
Today however, Jillian surprises Dakota by sitting down with him to talk about Jackson following her. It had been a few weeks since Jillina contacted Jackson’s spirit on Lilith’s behalf. Jillian hadn’t been ready to talk about it but the more she thinks about it the more it bugs her. Not only was she in danger but who stopped Jackson? It’s the million dollar question. She feels she knows but a certain warlock has disconnected his phone and she can’t get in touch with him without stepping foot back in Forgotten Hollow – something she really doesn’t want to do.
“I didn’t really know he was following me. I mean, I felt like something was but….I should have been more aware. It’s freaking Forgotten Hollow.” Jillian begins “But who stopped him? A good samaritan? Had to be someone with powers. He said he couldn’t move. But some vampires have powers….”
“That’s true.” Dakota agrees, though he has a feeling in his gut who it was. The question is why? He’s going back and forth between two options.
“I had no idea anything happened. I just tried to leave as quick as possible once I felt something was off.” She continues, briefly thinking about that day and why she was there to begin with.
“I think it was James.” Dakota flat out says. He looks at his girlfriend’s face and figures she thinks the same thing. “Maybe he wants to use it was a way to cash in a favor later on down the line since he was trying to be all buddy buddy with me months ago? But that don’t totally make sense because he isn’t claiming credit.”
“Well. Lilith is out for blood, so to speak.” Jillian says quietly.
Dakota pauses and nods. “I don’t know, James doesn’t strike me as a guy who is afraid of much.”
Jillian can’t argue there, she agrees with him. Silence stretches as the couple think on theories.
Dakota looks at his girlfriend, a main theory burning in his chest. One he really doesn’t want to voice out loud. He has a suspicion James has feelings for Jillian. That’s the only thing he could think of that would motivate someone like James to save someone and not come forward about it.
Jillian stares at Dakota, watching the wheels turn in his head. She wishes she could just confront James and find out the truth. There’s a small flicker of a thought in her head. Given James’ past behavior with her. His words that he doesn’t seem to mean to say at times…maybe James cares…and that thought scares her.
It's a dreary morning in Brindleton Bay as Slade Laws reaches a milestone.
Holding himself up for the first time. Annabelle Lee watches from her spot on the couch proudly, like another mama. She's grown quite attached to the little one.
Jillian is also proud of her son and gives him cuddles and kisses to celebrate but even baby cuddles can't get rid of the feeling dread in her chest. She has to talk to Dakota today. She slept most of the day she came home, then he put in a really long day of work yesterday. No. Today has to be the day. No more putting it off.
Dakota approaches his girlfriend after Joey takes Slade to lay him down for his nap. He knows something happened, he can sense it. Plus she came home hungover. While that is a little worrisome in itself given her Dad's history, he has a feeling that isn't the whole story.
"You know how I went out with Rashidah and her friend the other night?" Jillian starts. Dakota nods his head. "James ended up being at the club."
Dakota remains silent. It's public club. It happens. He realizes that.
"I had too much to drink and I was dancing with the girls. Then they were dancing with guys. It's kinda blurry. But James came on the dance floor." Jillian pauses. Things are still a bit fuzzy for her but she remembers certain things. Some things she wishes she doesn't remember. They're complicating things. "He...put his hands on my hips. I pulled away. Tried to leave. We got into an argument.
It's like a bomb goes off inside of Dakota. He tries not to explode like he did years ago but he clenches his fists. Jillian puts space between them. He follows.
"What else?" Dakota demands, he can tell there's more.
"He carried me to his car and took me to my parent's house. I don't remember the last part, I passed out. Andrew said James handed me over without a word and left." Jillian is agitated. At herself and at James. She knows Dakota is livid and that upsets her. But they said they would be honest with each other and she is trying to live up to that vow.
Dakota is seething. While he logically understands Jillian couldn't drive herself. There are taxis and James touched his girlfriend! Dakota makes himself count to ten and breathe. She's told him what happened. It's not like Jillian kissed James.
Dakota turns Jillian to face him, shockingly gentle. "I'll admit. I'm mad. But not at you."
Jillian relaxes slightly though she still feels guilty for some reason. Maybe because she remembers that she enjoyed James touching her.
"I'd like to strangle James. He has no right to touch a taken woman. Not to mention he's married himself." Dakota goes on, not seeing his girlfriend's struggle. Though Jillian herself is wondering why James behaved the way he did.
"I appreciate you being honest with me." Dakota says softly, touching Jillian's cheek. His rage at a simmer now.
Jillian leans into Dakota's touch, taking comfort from it. She had honestly expected this conversation to go much worse given Dakota's temper but he's worked hard to deal with it.
Her eyes drift close and she just breathes. A hazy image of James popping into her head. Her heart clenches. This is not good.
Slade Laws has just tried mango puree for the first time. He isn't totally sold on it but he doesn't hate it either.
"Mommy loves mangos. I ate them a lot when I was pregnant with you." Jillian tells her son, who doesn't look like she's convincing him to love the fruit. Still, Slade finishes the jar and makes a mess on himself somehow. He's very messy when he eats.
Slade gets a bath and an outfit change before his Uncle Joey steals him away for some tummy time.
Joey loves being an Uncle. He had hoped to be a Dad himself someday but he isn't sure if that's going to happen anymore. It makes him sad but he tries to be happy he at least gets to see his nephew grow up.
Jillian heads outside since Joey is watching Slade. She plans to practice her medium skill, even though she's maxed it. She startles when a smooth feminine voice calls to her.
She sits down at the seance table with Bella Goth. She knew this day would come. James had warned her. Still, she didn't do anything wrong. Why does something feel like it's wrong then?
"You were sighted in Forgotten Hollow on March 1st. What was your business there?" Bella asks her. Jillian is the last on her list of people to question.
"I was visiting James." Jillian says honestly. "To thank him for taking me to the hospital when I went into premature labor."
Bella nods. "Did you see Jackson Kumar that day?'
"No." Jillian states. All she has to do is being honest. But something about the whole situation is nagging at her.
"Did you see, hear or experience anything suspicious that day?" Bella questions.
Jillian thinks, wondering if she should tell Bella what she had told James. His reaction had been odd.
"I felt like I was being followed when I was leaving town. But, maybe it was just my anxiety. No offense, Mrs. Goth, but there's a lot of vampires in that town." Jillian comments. It's one of the reasons she had meant when she told Dakota she would do her best to stay away from Forgotten Hollow.
Jillian's comments gives Bella pause. It could be nothing. It could be something.
Caleb is out of town today, taking care of some vampire business for his sister since she's dealing with a lot at the moment, personally. I stayed home with Este and we had some very handsome visitors.
It's been a while since I've seen Slade, he's grown a lot. Dakota said the same about Este. Holding Slade made me kind of miss having an infant. Maybe someday....
Este and Slade seemed to get along pretty well. Este kept babbling at him about "pupeez and kittwees" and Slade seemed to eat it up.
Once the little ones were laid down for a nap, Dakota and I hung out in the dining room, reminiscing about our past.
"There's the time you told me I actually look pretty when we were getting ready to go to the bar with Joey." I reminded him, laughing.
Dakota groaned "You did look pretty. Still do. I just...was trying not to like you."
I grinned at him "No biggie, I had a great comeback at your expense anyway. Calling you Aladdin because of that weird vest you had on."
"I'd like to think my fashion sense and my game has improved since then." Dakota commented, finally looking at me, amused. "In fact I know it has, I got to bed two gorgeous redheads since then."
"Pig." I declared with a laugh.
Soon the laughter died and I sat there, studying him. He looked worried.
I folded my hands and waited for him to speak. Dakota sighed heavily. "Jillian hasn't wanted to talk about the fact that Jackson was hunting her. He would have killed her if...whoever it was didn't stop him."
I nodded a bit. I had gotten bits and pieces out of what Caleb had told me and now this. "She's probably not ready to talk about it. As someone who has been targeted by a vampire before, it messes with your head a bit." I commented, recalling when Asa tried to take a bite out of my neck years ago.
"I'm just worried she might try to bottle it up and let it fester. That she may even feel a bit of guilt in some way because if she hadn't been there, Jackson couldn't have hunted her." Dakota confided in me.
"That is possible. All you can do is let her know you're there for her. She'll talk when she's ready." I tried to assure Dakota.
I took him for a walk around the property before placing a call to Rashidah to watch Este and Slade for a little bit.
I showed Dakota my little lake I found nearby. It's not the ocean but it's close. We swam and had a good time. Truth be told, I was trying to get him to relax a bit and I won't lie, it's nice to get to hang out with him. Even though we didn't end up together, I still consider Dakota a close friend. A small part of me will always love him. I also care about Jillian and hope she's able process what happened and move forward.
Annabel Lee is feeling a bit gloomy. She knows she has everything a cat could want within reason.
Various warm places to sleep. Food and water. Toys in abundance. She can go outside and roam.
She has three people who give her scratches and pets whenever she wants pretty much but she holds a secret. It weighs heavy on her heart.
Slade is growing like a weed.
"Who's Daddy's little man?" Dakota coos as he cuddles Slade, who babbles at him in response. Dakota is doing his best to be the Dad for Slade he never had growing up. His career is making it hard at times but he is doing his best.
Jillian is enjoying being a Mom, her part time job at the bookstore allows her time to spend with her son. Between her, Dakota and Joey, they rarely have to have someone babysit and if they do, her parents or brother want the honor.
Jillian has been taking Slade on walks around Brindleton Bay when it's nice, wanting him to experience nature. She knows it is especially important if he is a warlock for him to connect to nature but even if he's human, she still feels it's important for a child to not spend all their time indoors.
She's decided to dive back into being a medium. She bought a new crystal ball set since she had to leave her other set behind in Strangerville after the house caught on fire.
"Hello old friend." Jillian greets Bonehilda. She's happy she was able to summon the skeleton maid. She wonders what happened to Guidry. He had saved her life along with Dakota when Temperance caused the house fire that caused her to leave Strangerville.
The spell worked. Once at the hospital, James handed Jillian over to the hospital staff and they rushed her into the ER. To his surprise, his sister-in-law Annalise was on duty. He didn't even know she worked at this hospital. He thought it was at another one, granted he hasn't paid much attention to what she does, unless it involves his wife.
He sits down on a couch in one of the waiting areas, feeling physically drained but not wanting to show it. He knows he's reached his limit with his magic for a good forty eight hours.
"I really shouldn't be telling you this, you're not her family member." Annalise tells him after she had helped stabilize Jillian, she was now being prepped for an emergency C-section, which would be handled by her OB-GYN- Dr. Goto. Annalise agreed to scrub in and help if needed.
"I just want to know if they're alive, Annalise. I'm not asking for all the dirty details." James tells her, rolling his eyes.
"Jillian is stable though unconscious, the baby is still in distress. They're prepping her for an emergency C-Section as we speak." Annalise tells him, wondering why he even cares. It stuns her that James is the one who brought the pregnant woman in. "It's a good thing you got her here when you did because if you hadn't, both of them wouldn't have made it." She leaves it at that and leaves to go get ready for the surgery.
James sits there, digesting that news for a few moments. He pulls out his phone, seeing he has service once again. He calls his spy to get the number of Dakota. The phone conversation with Dakota goes as well to be expected and it isn't long before he and Joey are at the hospital.
Dakota wants to see Jillian, to apologize for blowing up at her but he's told that even though he's the father of the child, it's best he not be in the operating room. Dr. Goto is honest with him and tells him he isn't totally sure how it's going to go. Jillian is stable but has remained unconscious and the baby is in distress. Dakota is a ball of worry and blaming himself as James approaches him.
"Umm...thank you for....getting them here." Dakota tells him. It feels heavy coming out of his mouth. He doesn't trust the older warlock and his fight with Jillian was about her not telling him about James' visit but James had gotten Jillian to the hospital.
James nods, feeling out of place. This isn't his usual role in the grand scheme of things.
"I don't understand what she was doing out in that weather to start with." James voices. In the middle of the night, on the outskirts of town, in the middle of winter no less -is not where you usually find a eight month pregnant woman.
"We had a fight. About you actually." Dakota admits, it takes a lot for him not to just blame James. He kind of started it but he didn't make Jillian not tell Dakota and he didn't make Dakota yell at her instead of talking to her about it.
James raises an eyebrow and he thinks back to what his little spy told him. So Dakota found out. Hmm. He didn't give Jillian the book to cause problems - for once - he did it because he knew she'd love it and it's rare to find someone who enjoys books like he does.
"You flew off the handle at her, didn't you?" James asks though he knows the answer. Dakota kind of reminds him of himself when he was younger. He can tell the young man has a temper. James still has one, when he was younger he let it control him at times. He's learned to manage it better with age.
Dakota crosses his arms "Excuse me?" He asks. How in the world did James know that?
"She's eight month pregnant. Pregnancy Hormones and someone getting in your face don't mesh well." He tells the man beside him. He pinches the bridge of his nose in aggravation. Young people. "Next time, don't let her leave in the middle of the night, okay? I can't be around all the time."
And with that, James leaves the hospital. Dakota stood there, wanting to punch something or someone. He didn't understand where James of all people got off on trying to call him out on his behavior when Jillian is the one who kept something from him. But that doesn't matter right now. He still loves her and he's worried about her and his son.
Garrett and Denise arrive at the hospital shortly after Dakota's chat with James, Andrew is out of town for his first game with his team. They sit in the waiting room with himself and Joey, waiting for news. Denise goes to the Hospital Chapel for a bit to pray for her daughter and grandson. It seems like time stands still. Naturally Garrett asks questions and Dakota fills him in the best he can without fully getting into his fight with Jillian. He doesn't need her Dad trying to rip his face off in the waiting room of the Hospital. Though Garrett is usually one of the most calm people you'll meet, when it comes to his kids, it's a different story.
Annalise comes out right after Mr. and Mrs. Garrett go to get some coffee.
"How are they?" Dakota asks her.
"It was close but Jillian and the baby made it through. The baby is doing quite well to be honest now that he's born, we will still want to keep him for a few days for observation." Annalise tells the men. If she had to guess, she'd say the baby has a magical blood coursing through his tiny veins and it's helping him survive.
"Jillian?" Joey asks as he watches his brother thinking about what he's been told.
"She is slowly waking up from anesthesia. Given that she was unconscious before we even placed her under, it may be a slow process. We'll be keeping her for a bit, she needs to recover from the operation and she lost quite a bit of blood during it as well." Annalise tells them.
"Can I see my son?" Dakota asks.
"Of course, only two at a time. He's in the nursery upstairs." Annalise tells the new father. She's sure he didn't picture his son's birth going like this.
"When can we see Jillian?" Joey asks, he's grown pretty fond of Jillian and is worried about her, as well as his nephew. He's just trying to be strong for his little brother and not think of himself during all this.
"Once she's in a room, you can see her. One at a time please." Annalise says before going to check on another patient.
By the time Dakota gets upstairs to the nursery, Jillian's parents have beat him up there somehow.
"Oh honey, our first grandbaby! Isn't he precious??" Denise asks, carefully holding the newborn up for her husband to see.
"He sure is and to think our little Jilly Bean wanted to include her Dad in his name." Garrett boosts proudly. Dakota decides to let them have their moment before he swoops in and holds his son for the first time.
"Slade Garrett Laws. Has quite the ring to it." Denise says, cradling the little boy to her. She just prays her little girl gets to hold him soon.
<-previous
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"McMurphy General Hospital" by rubysmile386 is up on the gallery.
The Sun came up and was halfway in the sky by the time Este and I reached BrindleBay. I drove us there, I don't see the point in taking the private jet for a trip like that.
Jillian was still in her Pajamas at the house, which I don't blame her. She's been through a lot. I can't imagine going into labor in the middle of a snowstorm and having to seek shelter in an abandoned house. Not to mention what happened after that. It's a miracle she and Slade are healthy.
I told her I'd watch Slade while she cleaned up for the day. Este found toys in the nursery, so she was good for about a half hour.
He's a cute little guy. It's a bit weird. Holding the baby of a man you used to date and have really strong feelings for and will always care about - but I'm happy for him and Jillian too.
"I bet you're going to be a heartbreaker when you're older." I told Slade softly as I rocked him. I glanced down at my own child, who was busy playing with a harry puffer toy.
~A half hour later
"Don't get me wrong, we're all glad James helped you. But don't you think it's kind of weird he somehow knew were you where?" I asked Jillian after she filled me in on what she remembered from the night Slade was born.
Meanwhile, Este was making friends with Annabel Lee. I smiled briefly at that before looking back at Jillian.
"I guess I haven't really thought about it much because I've just been grateful my son and I are both alive." She admitted to me. "It is kind of odd."
"Yeah, he don't live here. He lives in Forgotten Hollow which is over an hour away." I told her, I remember the trips well due to my time going to see Caleb there. That seems like a lifetime ago now.
"Maybe it was just God's way of working things out?" Jillian asks, glancing down at Este and her cat.
"It could be. Just...be careful around James. Please." I requested. I don't trust that warlock at all. I'm sure she's seen a different side of him but Caleb has known him longer than the rest of us. He don't trust James and that's good enough for me.
About that time, Jillian's Mom- Denise Ambrose arrived. I had yet to meet her and I instantly liked her. It made me miss my Mom. I wish she had gotten to meet Este.
"You really do need to talk to Dakota. The longer you two don't talk, the longer it'll fester. The uglier it can be." Denise reminded her daughter after she set the table with a dish she made in an instant pot.
"I agree with your Mom, for the record. There's time I've wasted fighting with Caleb and I wish I hadn't wasted it now." I commented. Like after we found out Liberty is a "alive" and is a vampire. I didn't talk to my husband for weeks and it was while I was pregnant with our daughter.
"I know admitting you were wrong can be uncomfortable, honey but you need to." Denise said after sitting down to join us.
Jillian shoved a bite in her mouth to avoid saying anything.
"Both of you could of handled the situation better but nothing goes smoothly in the heat of the moment. You two love each other, it's time for talking and making up." Denise finished her thought before taking a bite of her own food.
I almost cried a little. If my parents were around, maybe I'd avoid some mistakes but then again, are kids ever good at listening to their parents? Even when they're older? Still. I miss them. Jillian is blessed to have both of her parents. I hope she knows that.
