Jessica was sitting silently in one of the rooms of the old farmhouse.
"Now, we didn’t tie you up because there’s no where for you to go kiddo." Caroline said as she walked into the room. "This house sits on a cliff…and it’s very dark outside, one false move and you’re gone. Get it?"
Jessica nodded.
"Good, now behave and when the Harts get here you can go on home."
"Why would he just let me go? He’s already killed, why not kill again? I’m just a little girl after all."
Caroline didn’t answer her she just walked back out of the room. Jessica walked to the nearby window where she saw a stable outside. "Horses." She thought.
Jennifer and Jonathan were riding in the car in silence. Neither wanted to voice the guilt they felt for not keeping Jessica safe. Both blamed themselves and didn’t know what they would do if she wasn’t okay. Finally, Jennifer broke the silence.
"Is Sergeant Smith going to meet us there?"
"Yeah. I just hope we get there in time."
"Me too." Jennifer said as she touched Jonathan’s hand gently. They pulled up into the driveway of the old farmhouse as their hearts began beating miles a minute.
Meanwhile, Sam was getting antsy, he was tired of waiting. He went to the window at the front of the house and looked out. That’s when he saw the car pull up.
"It’s time!" Sam called. Caroline walked into the room and they walked outside together.
Jessica peeked out into the room and saw Sam and Caroline walk outside. She went back and climbed outside of the window and ran for the stables.
"Where’s Jessica?" Jennifer asked
"Inside. You can go to her as soon as I get the note." Jonathan reached to hand the note to Sam as Jennifer snuck into the house while they weren’t looking. Once Jennifer was inside Jonathan grabbed the note back and he and Sam began to fight. Caroline ran off as the scuffle began, she never was one who liked violence.
"Jessie?" Jennifer called. She walked into the room where Jessica had just escaped from and seeing the open window she looked out. She saw Jessica riding away on a horse. Jennifer climbed out of the window, ran to the stable and mounted one of the other horses. Making the horse run as fast possible Jennifer quickly gained on Jessica.
The sound of sirens cut through the air as the police arrived on the scene. They broke up the fight between Jonathan and Sam and went looking for Caroline. Jonathan went inside the house to find Jennifer and Jessica. He found an empty house. Jonathan walked back outside and grabbed Sam away from his arresting officer. "Where are they?" He growled.
"Who?"
"You know who, now where are they!"
"There’s a stable out back. Could they have taken the horses and rode off?" Sergeant Smith suggested.
Jonathan went to the stable and grabbed a horse. "We need to find them, this is all cliff area here they could go over before they realized they were near an edge." He said as he rode off into the woods, the police close behind him.
"Jessica, slow down!" Jennifer called
"I can’t! I’ve never ridden a horse before!" Jessica yelled back.
"Grab the reins and pull them tight."
"I’m scared."
"I know, hold on. I’ll come up beside you and try to stop you." Jennifer yelled as the two horses suddenly stopped throwing the riders off their backs and over the side of a cliff.
Jonathan stopped sharp when he saw two rider less horses running towards him. "Oh no" he said as he rode faster in the directions the horses had come from.
The rest of the search group was right at his heels when he stopped his horse and dismounted. Jonathan and the group began to search the edge, Jonathan refused to look down. He still held hope that they had not gone over.
Jessica rubbed her eyes until they opened slightly. "Jennifer?" she said as she saw Jennifer lying not far to her left. Slowly she crawled over and started to shake Jennifer gently trying to wake her up.
"What happened? Ouch." Jennifer said as she tried to sit up and pain shot up her spine.
"We must’ve landed on this ledge when the horses threw us." Jessica said as she felt raindrops fall on her head. "Oh shoot!" she said.
"We can’t stay out in this we’ll freeze." Jennifer said as she looked around her and saw an opening in the wall of the cliff. "Come on, we can go in there."
"Eww, what if there are like bats or bugs or rats in there?" Jessica cringed
"Would you rather freeze to death?" Jennifer said calmly as Jessica shook her head no and they started for the cave.
"They had to have gone over." The Sergeant said to one of his officers. "Go back and call the station. Tell them we’re going to need some climbers and ambulances pronto." The officer walked away as Sergeant Smith went to check on Jonathan.
"We’re getting climbers here, we’re going to scale this cliff. I promise you we’ll find them." He said as he patted Jonathan on the back.
"I know." Jonathan was standing near the edge of the cliff and as he spoke something caught his eye. "Look at that!" He pointed down. "It looks like a ledge a few feet down."
"Yeah, but I don’t see anyone down there." The Sergeant said.
"They’re down there. Jennifer is down there, I know she is. I’m going down there." Jonathan prepared to climb down to the ledge.
"Wait, we’ll get you down there as soon as we get rope and safeties here. Right now, just wait."
"I can’t just wait. Don’t you understand? If she dies, I die right along with her."
"I do understand. I have a wife too, but do you think it would help her if we find her and have to tell her you’re dead because you couldn’t wait for rope?" The rain fell silently on the men as they both sat down near the edge of the cliff and imagined what it would be like to lose the loves of their lives.
"Jennifer, I’m still cold."
"I know, sweetie. Come closer to me, maybe our body heats will warm us up." Jennifer said as she scooted over towards where Jessica sat against the wall of the cave. Jennifer wrapped her arms around Jessica’s shivering body and tried to hide her own coldness and pain so as not to scare her.
"Do you think they’ll find us?" Jessica asked.
"Jonathan will." Jennifer stated matter of factly.
"How can you be so sure?"
"I know Jonathan. He will find us."
"What if he doesn’t find us in time? I don’t know how much longer I can keep my eyes open."
"He will. Don’t you worry; we’re going to get through this just fine. Go ahead and close your eyes, I’ll wake you up every few minutes, okay?"
"Okay." Jessica said as she closed her eyes and laid her head on Jennifer’s shoulder.
"Good." Jennifer kissed Jessica on the top of her head before letting the tears she had been hiding to start falling. "Oh Jonathan, come soon." She pleaded as she felt Jessica move slightly. Jessica took her hand and gently wiped the tears on Jennifer’s face.
"You don’t have to hide the tears from me." Jessica said. "I think I’d be more frightened if I didn’t’ think you were scared too."
"I’m scared, very scared, but not for me. I’m scared for you."
"Me?" Jessica asked surprised.
"Sure, You have some pretty nasty bumps and bruises there." Jennifer said as she touched one of the cuts on Jessica’s arm.
"So do you." Jessica said. "But, like you said, Jonathan will find us, right?"
"Yes, he will. Now, rest your eyes." Jennifer winced as she was jolted by pain.
"Are you okay?" Jessica asked.
"I’ll be fine. Close those eyes, now." Jennifer said as she gently caressed Jessica’s face.
"Okay, just promise me you won’t leave me if I fall asleep."
"I promise, I’ll never leave you."
"Never? That’s a big promise."
"Never." Jennifer stated as Jessica laid her head back on her shoulder and closed her eyes.
Jessica never got a chance to fall asleep however for as soon as she closed her eyes they heard a great commotion outside of the cave opening.
"Jennifer!" They heard Jonathan calling.
Too weak to move Jennifer and Jessica both yelled back "Jonathan!" Before they knew it Jonathan had made his way into the cave. Jonathan scooped Jennifer into his arms. "Oh Darling, are you okay?" he asked.
"Much better now that you’re here." She said as Jonathan kissed her.
"You okay?" He asked Jessica as he reached to bring her into the group hug. She nodded her head yes as the paramedics entered into the cave and asked Jonathan to move to the side.
"No more flying off cliffs for you, ok darling?" Jonathan said as he sat on Jennifer’s hospital bed with his hands held behind his back.
"I promise, no more cliff flying." Jennifer giggled as she reached around to try and see what Jonathan was hiding. "Is that for me?" she asked sweetly.
"Oh these?" Jonathan said as he pulled eleven roses from behind his back. Jennifer reached for the roses but Jonathan put them out of her reach. "Aah ah ah. What makes you think they’re for you?"
Jennifer reached for Jonathan’s face and pulled him to her and kissed him forcefully on the lips. "Oh, you’re good." Jonathan said as he handed the roses to Jennifer and walked around so that they were sitting next to each other.
"Where’s the other one?" Jennifer said after counting only eleven roses. "Don’t these things usually come by the dozen?" she giggled
"It’s over there." He said pointing to the chair by the door where he had laid his coat. "It’s for your cliff flying partner."
"Aww, that’s sweet, she’ll love it." Jennifer said. "Have you found out how she’s doing?"
"No, but I told the receptionist to send Alexander in here as soon as he finds something out."
"Oh good." Jennifer smiled.
The afternoon flew by and Alexander still hadn’t come to Jennifer’s room. A nurse came in to give Jennifer a sedative so that she’d fall asleep.
"Nurse, have you heard anything about the girl who came in here with me?" Jennifer asked.
"She’s being released. Apparently she didn’t sustain more than some bruising and a few cuts. You were not so lucky. Now lay down, you need your rest." The nurse gave Jennifer the sedative.
"Can’t my husband stay?" Jennifer asked drowsily.
"He can stay until you fall asleep then you won’t even know he’s gone." The nurse replied.
"Yes, I will." Jennifer said sleepily as her eyes closed and she drifted away into sleep.
"Look who I found." Jonathan said the next morning as he led Alexander into Jennifer’s hospital room.
"Alexander! How’s Jessie? Where is she?" Jennifer asked.
"First, I have news. The doctor says as long as you take it easy you can leave today." Jonathan smiled.
"That’s great news!" Alexander said.
"Yes, it is." Jennifer said. "How is Jessica doing?"
"She’s doing okay. They gave her a lot of painkillers. Her foster parents are pretty nice about it all."
"Her what?" Jennifer said choking out the words.
"I didn’t’ tell you? Oh, we found her a foster family! Isn’t that marvelous?" Alexander stated cheerily.
"But, you didn’t even let us say goodbye! We wanted her to, I wanted her to stay with us." Jennifer said her voice fading out as she finished talking.
"WE wanted her to stay with us, Darling." Jonathan said as he kissed her on the cheek. "Is there anyway we can see her?" He asked Alexander.
"I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. I will have to check with her foster parents about your visiting with her. It’s really up to them."
"What if we adopted her?" Jonathan asked
"Darling, I thought you didn’t even want her to stay with us long enough to find other people to adopt her!" Jennifer said as she stared confused into his eyes.
"I didn’t, but then I thought about it. She’s a great kid and she wouldn’t be any trouble. Besides, what would have happened to me if Max had decided I needed more support than he could give me?"
"Oh darling," Jennifer said tearing up as she gently touched Jonathan’s cheek. "What would I do without you?" Jonathan took his wife’s hand and brought her palm to his lips. He gently kissed it. Showing her, it is she whom he couldn’t do without. Jennifer smiled.
"Well, " Turning to Alexander, Jennifer asked, "When do we get to see her?" With the news of Jessica's placement in a new home, Jennifer missed her already.
"I’ll call her tonight for you if you’d like?"
"We’d like you to call her now, Alexander, if you don’t mind. We really grew attached to her. She’s a great kid. I’d hate for her to feel any insecurities at the reason why WE didn’t ask her to stay with us."
"You’re right Mr. Hart. I’ll call the office and get the number." What a nice couple Alexander thought as he left the room.
(Ci)
Jonathan took Jennifer home. Alexander arranged to have Jessica’s foster parents bring her over to gather her things. Jennifer was feeling despondent when Jonathan walked into their bedroom. Jennifer had been released with strict orders from her doctor to stay put.
"Darling...are you okay?" He carefully sat on the side of the bed.
"Yes. I think it’s the sedative they gave me."
"You know I know you better than that."
"Oh Jonathan. Is there anything we can do? I feel like we let her down."
"Darling, she’ll understand once we let her know that we didn’t know anything about her being placed in a home so soon." Hugging Jennifer always made him feel better. He was sure it was the cure for the common cold. "She should be here anytime now, I’ll send her up."
"And please tell her foster parents I’d like to meet them as well."
Getting up to leave, Jonathan stroked her face one more time before leaving, he giggled at the tone she used when she said foster parents. "Sure will."
When Jessica and her foster parents arrived, Jonathan could tell she was hiding tears.
"Hello," extending his hand, "I’m Jonathan Hart."
"I'm John McClain and this is my wife Susan."
"How do you do?" Susan nodded.
"Won’t you come in? My wife Jennifer is upstairs recuperating from the fall."
"Yes, Jessica told us about it." Susan piped up. "She can't stop talking about you."
"Well I’m so glad you stopped by. Jessica, Jennifer would really like to see you, would you mind going up to check on her for me?"
"Sure Mr. Hart," looking at the McClain’s, she said "Be right back."
"Okay honey..."
Jennifer was sitting up when Jessica knocked on the door.
"Come in." Jennifer immediately brightened up at the sight of Jessica.
"Hi Jennifer." Jessica hurried to her open arms.
"Oh...I’ve missed you. Are you alright?"
"Yes. The orphanage put me with this family..."
"Yes I know. Are you okay with that?"
"Yes...but..."
"It will only be for a short time. Not as long as it may seem."
"I guess." Her tears betraying her, they fell as if they had a will of their own as she was trying to fight them back.
Just then there was a knock at the door. "Darling?" It was Jonathan. They both let go of each other and sat up.
"Come in Darling."
"You two okay?"
Jessica wiped her tears away quickly. Something that has come as natural to her as breathing.
"Oh...we’re fine Darling. Just fine." Jennifer tried to preoccupy her mind by moving Jessica’s hair from her face that was stuck by drying tears.
"Where are the McClain’s?"
"The who?"
"Jonathan, Where are Jessica’s new foster parents?"
"You’re looking at them."
"What? What do you mean?"
"They knew and we knew Jessica wanted to be here." He hugged Jessica. "And we wanted you to stay. We called Alexander and he’s changing your paperwork. You’ll stay with us indefinitely...if you’ll have us, that is."
"Oh Mr. Hart!"
(Michelle)
"What’s with all this Mr. Hart stuff? What happened to Jonathan?" Jonathan smiled at Jessica who smiled back.
"Sorry, I’m just so…" Jessica paused searching for the right word. "Surprised."
Jennifer looked at her oddly, "Surprised?"
"Yeah, I didn’t think you guys liked me. That sounds so babyish." Jessica shook her head as she spoke.
"No, it doesn’t sound babyish. We understand and we do like you, very much." Jennifer said as she brushed a piece of stray hair out of Jessica’s face.
"But, when you didn’t say goodbye I thought…"
"Shh," Jennifer interrupted. " We didn’t know you were going anywhere, we would’ve made sure you didn’t. You belong here with us now." Jennifer said as Freeway Jr. jumped onto the bed and laid his head in Jessica’s lap. "And with Junior!" They all giggled.
"This can’t be happening!" Caroline said to herself. She had managed to elude the police searchers and go to her old house. No one would think to look for her there. No one had even lived there in eons, or did it only seem like eons. It must have been at least a century since she and Davis had set out on their life together. Since they had all been so happy. Then when their love produced their beautiful little baby girl they were the happiest little family to ever be. Until Sam and Jeffrey came into their lives that is. Now, Caroline was stuck in a lonely existence without her husband and her baby thinks she’s an evil woman out to get her. No one even knows her real name. She always loved that name, her mother’s middle name and her grandmother’s first. It has such a wonderful ring to it, she thought…Elizabeth. Would she ever be called by that name again?
"Alright, so now we just have to figure out who Davis is." Jennifer said as she and Jonathan sat down to breakfast.
"And where Caroline is."
Jessica came down into the kitchen as Jonathan finished his thought. She looked at him sharply. "They don’t know where Caroline is?" she asked nervously.
"No, they don’t, but don’t worry, she won’t come near you." Jennifer said calmly.
"But…"
"Hey, I told you, we’ll take care of you. You won’t be out of our sight until all of this is over."
"That’s right." Jonathan assured her.
Jessica still looked a little nervous but then she started smiling broadly. "Hey, that means no school! YES!" she exclaimed.
"Hah, good try!" Jennifer said "but, nope, I’ve decided it might be nice to teach."
"To, teach?" Jessica stammered.
"Yeah, see Mrs. Brownstone the English teacher is out on extended illness. Did you know all you need to substitute is to get fingerprinted and have a background check done?" Jennifer said as she went back to eating her food.
Jessica sighed and sunk into one of the chairs as she reached for an apple and a piece of toast.
Alexander was sitting in the office of the orphanage when a strange person walked in. The person was covered from head to toe in winter clothes and was wearing sunglasses. If he hadn’t just had his coffee he may have mistaken the person for a walking snowman.
"Can I help you?" he asked.
"Only if you promise to listen to everything I have to say before you do anything." The "snowman" said.
"Caroline!" He yelled as he recognized her voice.
"Shh, please! You have to hear me out." Caroline said
"I do? Why should I help you in any way after what you’ve done?" Alexander spat
"Because, I’m your sister." She said softly.
(Ci)
Jennifer arrived at the Beverly Hills Academy running a few minutes late due to a traffic light repairs. She rushed into the office to find Mr. York the Principal walking in.
"May I help you ma’am?" He asked.
"Uh yes," She extended her hand, and walked forward. "I'm Jenif-," biting her lip. "Geveva Garrett. The 10th grade English substitute."
"Oh yes- How lovely." He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. She was so beautiful! "Well, MZZ. Garrett, could you step into my office so we can sign the necessary paperwork?" He emphasized on the "Ms." He had to know more about her.
"Why yes." Jennifer was accustomed to men’s flattery, and she was sure his was going to be hard to shake.
"After you..." He followed her in as he ogles her.
"MY SISTER?" Alexander was appalled at the thought. "And just which sister are you pretending to be Caroline?"
"I know you don’t believe me Alexander...I've tried to tell you so many-!"
"NO! You tried to have Jessica killed!"
"PLEASE! Hear me out!" Elizabeth knew it was going to be hard to convince Alexander. A part of her always thought he knew.
"You listen to me!" He spat. "I want you out of here! Out of our lives. It would do you good to go into hiding for the crimes you’ve committed..."
Elizabeth began crying. Didn’t she realize she was going to have to have evidence? She began singing..."I love you so much I love you so much, I can’t even tell you how much I love you...you’re special to me, you’re special to me...I’m happy to have you as part of my life. I love you, I love you, I love you..."
"How did you know that- that song.... my mother sang that to me when I was so young? Elizabeth used to sing it after mother died..." Alexander was shaking. "Lizzy?"
