jeu d’esprit
chapter seventeen:


Skye lay uneasily on her bed pretending to be asleep, Rae next to her. Rae's eye's scanned the room and fell on the alarm clock. After finding the time she carefully inched her way off of Skye's bed hesitant to wake her for all the trouble she had falling asleep and staying that way. She tiptoed to the door and opened it making a slight creaking noise and gasping at the sight of Alan, "Oh, God, Alan, don't ever do that again," she warned him.

"Do what... walk through the corridor of my home? What's going on, Rae?" Alan waited for a response and when none came decided to dig a little further, "What is going on with Skye?"

"I can't tell you that"

"She's my daughter... I'm her father for heaven's sake. I deserve to know what's going on and you have an obligation to tell me."

"The only obligation I have is to my daughter and I will not betray her confidence."

"I'm guessing this has something to do with Jax"

"Why would you say that?" Rae looked at her feet as she shifted her weight uncomfortably.

"I got a call from the hospital last night about him tearing the place apart then a few minutes ago I get this call from Mac Scorpio telling me they arrested him"

"They what?" Skye stood behind Rae her voice tightening.

"Sweetie -- " Rae began

"What for?" Skye's voice tightened, "Why did they arrest him?"

"Honey," Rae put her hands on Skye's shoulders, "why are you awake? You should be asleep."

"I had another nightmare"

"You're having nightmares again," Skye didn't respond, "she's having nightmares," Alan turned to Rae who in turn kept her attention on Skye.

"Why don't you brush your teeth and everything and we can both kinda just lounge around the house in our p.j.s, hmm? I'll go make sure they've got those chocolate chip chocolate muffins you like so much."

Rae closed the door behind her as she left leaving Skye in a frenzy. Skye showered and changed to go out. She crept down the stairs to the front door, coat in hand.

Myrtle stood out of site watching her, "Where do you think you're going, honey?" she asked as Skye slowly shut the door.

"Grandma," Skye turned around trying to hide her surprise, "I just, uh, I was gonna..."

"You were gonna what?"

"Look I could lie to you," Skye's lip seemed to tremble as she looked Myrtle in the eye, "I could tell you some lame story but," Skye looked down for a second, "what would be the use?" she looked back up, "I have a friend who really needs me. Mom's trying to railroad him for something that wasn't his fault and I'm probably the only one who can help him -- please"

"Okay... go ahead, Honey," Myrtle urged her to go, "I'll take care of your mother," Myrtle watched Skye leave then headed into the den for breakfast.

"You haven't seen Skye, have you, Mama?" Rae asked entering the room a little while later.

"Ah-a few minutes ago," Myrtle stopped there having fully answered the question at hand.

"Where?" Rae questioned annoyed Myrtle hadn't continued.

"'Where?'" Myrtle repeated, "Well, here of course, in the house."

"Where in the house?" Rae's voice rose as she began to get mad at her mother and worried for her daughter.

"I -- uh, I'm not exactly sure if I can recall"

"You tell me now, exactly where you saw my daughter, Myrtle," Rae approached Myrtle furiously, knowing full well Myrtle was holding back, "I swear if anything has happened to her I'll -- "

"Wha-what happened?" Myrtle became worried as well seeing her daughter this upset.

"Tell me. where is Skye?" Rae continued forcefully, "Where is my daughter?"

"She went to help a friend. I don't see any problem in that"

"Oh, God, of-of course you don't, you don't see any problem with that because you don't know what Jax did to her. You didn't know that he raped her, did you? But what you try and cover for her -- for him so he can violate her again? I will not allow that to happen and I swear if he touches one hair on her head -- " Rae's eyes never left Myrtle's as she backed away and into Alan.

"I'll kill him," Alan then yelled for Reginald as Rae and Alan left to find Skye.

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Meanwhile at the PCPD:
"And you don't remember your assailant, either?" Dara asked.

"No, I told you, no I don't remember but I know it wasn't Jax."

"How do you know?"

"How do I know?" Skye repeated utterly confused, "I-I just do, Jax would have never done that to me. Now why are you all looking at me like I'm crazy?" Skye turned around to find herself facing Alan and Rae, "Jax didn't rape me but someone else did and you're letting him get away," she looked pointedly at Rae then turned around to face Dara and Mac.

"Okay, okay, thank you very much for your time, Miss Quartermaine," Mac gathered a few folders and stopped at the doorway before exiting, "Rae, I'm sorry we're gonna have to let him go," Mac said facing her.

"Thank God," Skye said under her breath as she breathed a sigh of relief.

"But why?" Rae asked him.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Cummings," Dara began answering for Mac, "it's pretty much an unwinnable case if the victim is unwilling to testify against the perpetrator and if she is in fact willing to testify in his favor that would sink the entire case before it even started."

"Isn't there something . . ." Rae's voice became somewhat of a blur to Skye as she saw Taggart taking the handcuffs off Jax through the interrigation room window. Skye snuck out the side door with no one noticing after realizing the intensity of Alan and Rae's concentration on what Dara was saying.

"Jax?" Skye choked on his name, her eyes wide

"Skye," Jax turned to find the most beautiful amber eyes looking up at him, "are you okay?" concern filled his voice.

"Ohh, Jax," Skye entered his open arms and into an embrace, "I'm so sorry, I just found out . . . t-that they arrested you. I know you didn't -- that you wouldn't ever do something like that."

"I-I don't care about any of that," Jax began, putting his arms tighter around Skye, "all I care about is that you're all right. Are you?"

"I'm better now," Skye rested her head on Jax's chest.

"I'm just so sorry -- about everything. I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know"

"'Never wanted to hurt her'?" Rae went at him with her purse, full-body, Alan held her back, "Get away from my daughter, now!" Rae yelled fighting Alan to let her go.

"Stop it!" Skye screamed, "stop it now, mother."

"Skye . . ." Rae's voice trailed off pleading with her.

"What?!?"

"I'm trying to help, honey, that's all I want"

"What about what I want?"

"It's my job as your mother to realize what is right and wrong for you. And Jax falls under the heading of 'extremely hazardous'."

"My mother," Skye mused, "my mother," she questioned, "how would you, as my mother, know anything about what's right or wrong for me? We've only know each other for a couple of months, you don't really know anything about me except what I've told you."

"So tell me, sweetie"

"I know you think you can share all this with me . . . but you can't"

"Why not?"

"Becau-because you don't know and it's -- it's really hard to explain what it's like to feel . . ."

"Feel what, honey?" Rae hung her arms gingerly around Skye's shoulder in hopes of providing comfort.

"You can't know . . . you can't ever understand what that's like, what it does to you, I don't even understand what I'm feeling how could you?"

Rae paused momentarily thinking over her choice of words, "Because of Brad Vernon"


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Lauren