Bless the Broken Road Ch. 06

"But keep in mind, you need to continue with therapy on the outside until you and your therapist are comfortable with your mental state. I'll also tell you that up until now, I have kept law enforcement off your back. They've wanted to interview you since you woke from your coma. I have repeatedly denied them access and since you didn't remember what happened, there was no use in them questioning you. However, once you leave here, all bets are off and I'm sure, when they find out, they will want to talk to you. It is up to you what you tell them, but you'll have to speak with them at some point, I'm sure.

Jessie and Rob looked at each other. Surprise and elation on their faces.

"Thank you, Doctor Fisher. When can I leave?" Rob asked.

"As soon as we can draw up your discharge paperwork, about an hour or so, unless you want to stick around for dinner," she smirked.

"I'll sign them as soon as you have them completed," Rob said. "Oh, I almost forgot. Does anyone know I'm leaving? Like the press or media? I don't want this place to become a zoo."

I'll see to it that security is notified, and we'll do this as quietly as we can. We can sneak you out but you're on your own when you leave the hospital. You may need to discuss with your local police department what to do about security at your home."

Jessie had a million phone calls to make while Rob packed up what little he had for personal items. After signing the papers, hospital security took Rob down to the basement and into a tunnel to an adjacent building. Jessie was waiting there in the Jeep, at the back door of the building which faced into the hospital courtyard. When they left, they saw no evidence of the press at the main entrance.

On the way home, Rob was quiet as he looked out the window at the passing scenery. His mind was going in several directions at once. He was thinking about what Jessie said and how he ended up in a coma. He was thinking about what could have happened if he had failed in her barn. He was thinking that nothing he was seeing along the landscape looked familiar. That worried him a little.

Jessie broke the silence finally as she had watched his face for several minutes and knew whatever it was that he was thinking, was taking a toll on him. "Penny for your thoughts?" she asked.

Startled back to the present, Rob said, "Oh, um, nothing looks familiar at the moment. I'm hoping when we get closer to home, I'll recognize something."

"Rob, you might be able to pull that shit off with the hospital doctors, but it doesn't fly with me. Something is really bothering you. Is it what I told you about that night?"

Shit, he thought. Sometimes it's nice to have someone that knows you well enough to see right through you, and then other times...

"Yeah. It is a lot to take in. I did my best to hide it from Dr. Fisher. I can't believe I couldn't stop Jack from taking you. How could I not see that? How could I not know what was going on?" Rob was angry at himself. He felt he had failed her and it could have cost Jessie her life.

"Honey, you saved me. Nobody could have known from what was going on that Jack had anything to do with it. Don't blame yourself. Look at us..." she reached her hand out and grabbed his." We're here, together and that is all that matters."

Rob was trying to listen but all he kept thinking was that he should have buried Jack in the beginning. Then none of this would have happened. But he had been stupid and tried the 'live and let live' approach. He wouldn't make that mistake again. People like Jack didn't deserve a second chance.

There was more silence from Rob as he looked out the windshield and then out the side window of the Jeep.

"Something else is bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?" Jessie asked.

"There is something that I need to talk to you about but I'm not sure if this is the time. I'm not sure if there even is a good time."

"You can talk to me about anything silly. If it is bothering you this much, now is as good a time as any don't you think?"

Rob thought she was probably right. He took a breath, hoping it would help any fallout that might occur from what he needed to say. "I need to talk about Aimee."

"What about her?" Jessie asked as she bristled a bit. It was evident in her tone.

"Jessie, I owe her my life. I can't forget that, and I want her to remain in my life as a friend in whatever capacity she sees fit."

"How did she save your life?" Jessie almost demanded.

"When I came off the sedative after remembering Lisa's death, I wanted to die. And if it wasn't for Aimee, there's no telling what I might have done. I'm sure it would have ended badly for me and anyone trying to stop me. She was able to stop all that from happening."

The idea of Aimee hanging around was not something Jessie had contemplated. She assumed that once Rob had remembered her, Aimee would be a distant memory. Now he was saying he wanted her to still be in his life. She bit her tongue, not wanting to upset Rob before they got home but she was not happy with Rob's request.

"Do I have any say in the matter or have you already decided?"

"Yes, you have a say. In fact, Aimee insisted that you needed to be okay with this. She doesn't want this to be an issue between us that could potentially cause a breakup. "

Jessie was completely caught off guard with what Rob said.

"Jessie, I love you, not her. You're the one I want to be with. I'm here now, with you, only because of her. That alone is reason enough for me to be there for her at some point if she needs help. That is all it will be... a friend being there for a friend."

Jessie heard the words, but she wasn't quite over her initial anger yet to be able to fully grasp what it all meant.

"Give me a little bit to think about it. I understand what you're saying, and I think I understand why you are asking for this. I just want a little time. Is that okay?"

"Yes, that's fine. We can talk about it anytime. There's no rush."

There was silence for a while in the Jeep as Jessie drove. She was trying to understand Rob's viewpoint and at the same time wonder about how a Lisa clone in his life was going to make things any better for them.

As they neared their neighborhood, Rob was beginning to recognize some things, houses, trees, the lay of the land, and the road. He realized they were close, and he eased up slightly.

When they pulled into the drive, there was a car at the house that Rob didn't recognize.

"Whose here? I don't know that car."

"A little surprise for you." She said.

When Rob opened the front door and walked in, he heard Jaime squeal and then scream with joy.

"You're here!" she cried as she started towards him. Rob squatted down to be at her level to greet her. Then... he heard it. A noise off to his left. Glancing over, that is when he saw him. Little Greg. He was exiting the kitchen, running toward Rob, looking every bit like a middle linebacker about to blindside and bury his opponent.

Both kids had zeroed in on his position and were accelerating on converging vectors. Rob quickly surmised that the kinetic energy of the two inbounds was going to cause more damage than the original estimate for his tenuous position. He dropped to his knees on the ground for a more stable position and braced for impact.

Jaime made it first. She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed. She may not have been squealing very loudly but her head was right alongside his ear. He thought his eardrum may burst.

Greg slammed into Rob full steam. Rob reared back a bit but kept his balance. It became clear to Rob at that moment that he should get this kid into little league football. He wrapped an arm around each and gave them a good hug.

"Mr. Rob! We're so happy to see you! We missed you!" Jaime yelled.

"Hey, you two! Take it easy on him. He just got out of the hospital!" Jessie said sternly.

"I missed you both too. I'm glad you are here. We have a lot to catch up on." Turning to Jessie, he smiled and said, "It's fine. I'm not THAT delicate."

Just then, he saw Annette and Bill walk in from the kitchen. Rob stood up to greet them. Greg was satisfied with his greeting of Mr. Rob and let go. But Jaime didn't. When Rob stood up, Jaime remained with her arms glued around his neck and he lifted her off her feet. When he realized she was dangling and wasn't about to let go, he wrapped an arm around her to support her and walked over to greet Bill and Annette.

Rob shook Bill's hand. Annette pulled on Jaime who finally let go and dropped to the ground. Annette then wrapped her arms around Rob. She whispered in his ear, "You saved her twice. That is enough for any man to go through. You need to retire your cape because Jack is gone." Then she kissed his cheek.

Rob whispered back, "I would do it a thousand times for her." giving her a kiss back on her cheek.

"Let's hope you don't have to do it again. I've already stopped counting the grey hairs but that doesn't mean I'm okay with having more." Annette said.

Bill spoke up and said, "We wanted to welcome you home, but we don't want to intrude. So please excuse us as we're going to clear out and let you two get reacquainted. Once you feel comfortable, let us know and we'll all come back, but not before then. Greg, Jaime, say your goodbyes and then we'll go someplace for dinner. Alright?"

The kids were a little downcast at having to leave and only seeing Rob for a couple of moments. Rob was even more downcast because he realized how close he'd come to never having the chance to do this. It meant so much more to him than the kids realized. They were too young to pick up on the significance and only looked at it from a six and eight-year-old's viewpoint.

When they were gone, Rob dropped onto the couch with a big sigh. Jessie joined him, cuddling up with him.

"Do you know how much I've missed this? I was worried I may never get to do this again," Jessie sighed.

Rob put his arm around her and pulled her in close. "I can't believe I almost screwed this up to the point that we couldn't do this again."

"Stop it!" she said sternly, half-heartedly swatting on his chest. The only thing that matters is now, and the future."

"Speaking of the future, I want to show my gratitude to the people at the terminal for everything they have done and to apologize to them for causing them so much trouble," he said.

"ROBERT MARTIN! What happened was not your fault! They know that. They did what they did because they felt like a family. A family YOU created and allowed them to be a part of. They came together to help you, Merle, and each other. Why it happened wasn't an issue, so you'd better pull your head out of your ass instead of blaming yourself. Look at all the wonderful friends you have that we're there for you when you couldn't be."

Rob stopped for a moment to think. Jessie wasn't sure what to make of his silence. She hoped she hadn't pissed him off.

"I hadn't thought of it in that way. It wasn't my intention to create a family. I hired the people that I felt were right for the job."

"Whatever it was that you felt was right with them, was something that they saw and liked in each other. They all get along very well together," she said.

"Well, I'd still like to thank them. I want to have a big party for them and their families," Rob said.

"That would be great! I'm sure they would all love that."

"It's been a while since I've been to a pig roast. Hoss and I have cooked many over the years. As long as I give him enough alcohol, he'll be more than happy to help out."

"A pig roast sounds awesome. I think. I've never been to one before. I've been to plenty of corn roasts though. I hope the pig doesn't burn as easily as corn does but I suppose with enough alcohol, it wouldn't matter," she giggled.

"We've never lost a pig yet but since I now know that you've never been to a roast, there's a tradition that must be kept up and you're going to participate in it," Rob said with a little bit of an evil grin.

"And what would that be?" she asked hesitantly after seeing his grin.

"You'll find out that day. It is also part of the tradition to not give it away ahead of time."

That statement had Jessie a touch worried. She had no clue what it might be that she was going to have to do but by Rob's expression, it felt like everyone was going to enjoy it... but her. "Let me fix something for dinner since you didn't eat at the hospital," Jessie said, giving him a peck on his cheek and then going into the kitchen.

After dinner, Rob was tired and told Jessie he was going to go to bed.

"I'll take care of the kitchen tomorrow. I'm going wherever you're going," she said.

When Rob laid down, Jessie quickly got onto the bed. She turned away from Rob and was about to start scooting backward toward him when his arm came over and around her, pulling her up against him as tightly as he could. Jessie was surprised for a second but then melted into him, doing her little wiggle to find the best position with the most contact and then they both drifted off.

The next morning, Jessie didn't want to go to work, wanting instead to stay home with Rob. However, she thought he might need some time alone after all he'd been through, so she let him sleep and went off to work. When Rob woke up, he reached for Jessie but only found an empty bed. He panicked, after knowing what had happened to her before. He jumped up, grabbed his phone and called her. He was relieved when she answered. She told him to enjoy the day off and she'd bring something home for dinner.

Rob had plenty of time on his hands and walked around the house, looking at all the things that were different in it since Jessie had moved in. They had a tablecloth, useless pillows on the couch, pictures on the walls, and somehow, he had lost over half of the real estate in the master bath. But it made him smile and laugh a little. He wouldn't want it any other way.

Two days later, Rob had enough of being home and after Jessie had left for work, decided that his first day back to work was going to be today. When he arrived at the terminal, everyone wanted to come by to see him, wish him well, and maybe get a little more information on how the whole thing came about. Rob understood it was curiosity and felt it was a genuine concern, so he told the short, short version to most everyone. Diane and Hoss already knew everything and whether that story had been broadcast early on and people were simply wanting to hear it from him, he didn't know.

Once things settled down, Rob walked into his office not knowing what to expect. The original building and contents had been a complete loss, so nothing survived. He wondered what he would find. Other than a picture of his parents together with him when they attended his graduation at Parris Island, there was nothing of sentimental value that he would miss. When he walked in, he noticed right away the office was much bigger. More than he needed but one could never have too much space. A huge window made up one wall overlooking the lot toward the east. His new desk was larger with more drawers. But what caught his eye was the picture sitting off to the side of the phone. It was the same picture of him and his parents at his graduation. Someone really went the distance on this to make it seem as normal as possible.

With his new phone, he called Hoss and asked him to stop by when he had a moment. When Hoss stopped in, the grilling began.

"The new place looks great. I think it is more functional than the old one. Whose idea was the new layout?"

"That was mostly between Merle and myself. Since we were building from the ground up, and with no idea if expansion was in the future, he wanted to know what would serve us best for the present and what could be added now or prepped for now, for the future."

"It looks like you did a great job. Who has been handling day-to-day operations?"

"That's been a consortium of who knows best. Merle was here at the very beginning but took over the new terminal in Williamsport for the construction. That left me and Diane here. She organized, I oversaw the work and she and Jess handled the finishing like carpet and desks. And when the work was completed, we all made it work."

Rob was really impressed. He wasn't surprised with Hoss stepping up and handling things, that is what he is good at. Rob was sure his decision to move him up to General Manager was a good one. That would allow Rob to take a step back from the daily operations. He'd let Hoss in on the good news at a later time.

"I'm going to have a party for all the employees and their families at my house to thank them for everything. It will be a pig roast with all the amenities."

"That sounds great. When is it?"

"I'm thinking about the following Saturday."

"Uh... hold on a sec." Hoss pulled out his phone and started flipping through it.

"What are you doing?" Rob asked.

"I'm checking my calendar."

"You're what?"

"Checking my calendar," Hoss said, a little annoyed at having to repeat himself.

"I heard what you said. I can't believe what you said."

"What'd ya mean?"

"I mean I know you have a calendar on your phone and everyone else knows you have a calendar on your phone...but when did YOU figure out you have a calendar on your phone?"

"Hey, I can have, and use, a calendar just like anyone else... prick. Okay, you said the following Saturday, right?"

"Yes."

"Oh. I probably won't make it."

"Why not? I've never known you to pass up free meat and alcohol."

"I uh... I have a prior commitment."

"Prior commitment? What the hell does that mean? Spit it out."

"I got a date, okay?"

"You... you've got a date? That you put on your calendar?

"Yeah.... dick. I bought tickets for a show in Columbus and it's on my calendar, so I won't forget."

"Are you telling me you have a girlfriend?"

"What? You don't think I can have a girlfriend?"

"No, it's not that. I've never seen you set aside a day for a date. Who is she? What's her name? It must be pretty serious. I've never known you to plan a date out any further than like two hours."

"I'm interested in her and I think she feels about the same. IF something happens, you'll find out who she is. Right now, we're keeping things low key."

Rob was confused as to why Hoss wouldn't give him any information, but this was new territory for him. He always felt Hoss was going to be the eternal bachelor/playboy so if some woman had her claws in him, she must be an exceptional woman to tame him. He'd abide by Hoss' request and let him decide when the time is okay.

"Okay, well, the invite is always open to you and the little misses if you want to stop by. Now, I have one more question to ask."

Hoss was a little relieved that this line of questioning was over and was eager to move on to something else. "Okay... shoot."

"Who is Brett? The guy that went with us that night to get Jessie. I don't remember ever meeting or knowing him."

"He's a friend of mine. You never met him before that night. He lives a couple of houses down from me. We got to know each other living so close. He's an Army Vet and did some time in Iraq."

"How did he end up there that night?"

"When you called me on the phone, you said one word... Haditha. That had to mean that either the fecal matter had, or was going to, hit the rotating oscillator. I called Brett and didn't give him a choice one way or the other of going with me. Once he saw the video of Jess, there was no way he wasn't all in. Wait... how much of this do you know?"

"A good bit, I think. Alex, the little redhead that was held in the house came to see me. She was the one to break the news to me, then Jessie gave me a good rundown. I don't think I'm missing much but everyone was mentioning this guy Brett, but nobody seemed to know much about how he got involved."