The Tears of the Stars Pt. 01

She didn't say anything else. It's not that she didn't want to, though. She wanted to say that they could be together that way. They could be together forever and be happy, and that they could run away somewhere, just the two of them. But she held it all in and hid the pain in heart. "Momma called. There's something going on down at the hospital. It's on the news." Jackson walked down ahead of her with the sheet wrapped around his waist. She looked at the strong lines of his back and still felt the funny, warmth between her legs. God is good. She knew that. But God wouldn't approve of her urges and that confused her.

******

Dana pulled into the hospital parking lot with a glow on her face. She was happy; even she had to admit that to herself now. It was almost noon. She had fallen asleep after pleasuring herself and just didn't feel the need to rush any longer. She had patient charts to go through, but nothing imperative. She rarely took time for herself and it was a welcome change.

She was startled to see the caravan of news trucks parked along the side of the lot and the frenzy of activity happening outside the hospital. There were reporters from four different news stations holding their microphones and reporting events into their respective cameras. Nothing like this had ever happened at St. Peter's.

Dana shuffled into the entrance of the hospital. A nurse was busy answering phones at one of the stations. "Susan? What on earth is going on?" She asked. "Why are all those reporters outside?"

"Oh God! Dr. Monroe, you haven't heard?!" She gasped. The phones kept ringing and she'd long since given up on trying to answer them all.

"Heard what?"

"It's a miracle! I wouldn't believe myself had I not seen it with my own eyes. It's an honest to God miracle!"

"What is?"

"The boy!" She exclaimed. "Josh Callaway! He's been healed. Not just healed, he's been running around this morning laughing. It looks like he's never been an ill a day in his life... well... except for his hair."

Dana stared at her in disbelief. "Josh Callaway? The leukemia patient?"

"Yes!"

"The five year old Josh Callaway? Whose mother has been staying here at night because he only has days left to live?"

"YES! YES!" She squealed. "They brought him down for all the scans this morning and there's no sign of cancer at all. None! I mean they're waiting for a few more comprehensive tests but that's just to be certain."

"Oh my God!" Dana said quietly. She raced down the hallway her mind awash trying to remember what had happened last night. It couldn't be, she thought, it just couldn't.

She found her way to the children's wing of the hospital. The nurses were all gathered around squawking while they watched Josh laughing and running and doing summersaults down the middle of the hallway. His mother watched him, a solitary beacon of hope and thanks for all her prayers that had been answered.

"Oh Dana, isn't it wonderful!" Dana turned to see Sally Travers standing beside her. "Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior. He works miracles every day. But to see such a miracle right here in our hospital! Oh praise Him! I never thought I'd see something so glorious."

"Come with me." She said dragging Sally by the arm. "Mrs. Callaway." She whispered in the mother's ear. The woman lit up at the sight of Dr. Monroe and followed her into the next room. When the door was closed, Dana asked, "What happened?"

"It's a miracle, Dr. Monroe. I thought about it all night. It was right after that angel left that he perked right up. He said a prayer to the stars just like he told him to. You know I was almost upset by that story... to get him hopeful of being cured... but he was a nice man and I didn't want to say nothing. But, he worked a miracle on my boy. I'd like to thank him. What was his name?"

"You can't thank him." Dana jumped in.

"You know Jackson finally woke up last night." Sally noted. "Do you think he was healed too?"

"Jackson!" Mrs. Callaway said. "Yes, he said his name was Jackson!"

"Jackson? My Jackson?" Sally asked. "My Jackson did this?"

"Are you his mother?" Mrs. Callaway asked.

"Yes." She said confused.

"No!" Dana said firmly. "Jackson is not a part of this. Please, I'm begging you not to mention his name. Let me talk to him first before you do that. You say whatever you have to say, but leave him out of it. I'm begging you."

"I... Oh... I guess I understand. I'm just thankful to get my little soldier back." She smiled as she looked at him playing in the hall through the panel window in the door. She never thought she'd see him play like this again. "Whatever he wants."

"Thank you." Dana said. "It means a lot to him. And to me. I'm so happy your boy is healthy. It is a miracle." She gave the woman a sincere hug.

"What does Jackson have to do with anything of this?" Sally asked.

Neither woman answered her. Dana flung open the door, walking briskly with purpose. Sally trailed after her desperately trying to keep up.

"Dana!"

Dana turned. "We'll talk later, Sally." She said. "I'm sorry I didn't call to tell you I dropped Jackson off at home last night. He asked me not to disturb you. Can we just talk later?" Now she regretted letting Sally hear any of that. She was panicked and certain that his name would have been mentioned by now. It gave her the foreboding sense that she just made things more complicated.

Sally watched her turn away again. It wasn't like her. She couldn't understand what her son had to do with any of this. The good Lord bestowed a miracle on their community. What could be more important than that? But she followed along sensing something important.

******

Jackson had a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. Why hadn't he considered the media attention this would cause? He wondered how long it would take before it showed up on his doorstep, and how he'd respond. He sat back into the cushions on the worn brown sofa, his sister beside him. The coverage had been nonstop all morning and every network called it something different. Miracle at St. Peter's seemed to be the name that got repeated most.

"Oh! He's going to speak." Stacy clapped on her brother's knee in excitement. "He's so cute! It's amazing isn't it?"

"Of course. A blessing." Jackson said staring at the screen. His mind was elsewhere, though. There wouldn't be anything said that he didn't already know. He wondered if Dana was there.

On the television, Josh Callaway walked up to the microphones. He wasn't shy at all. His mother stood by his side. A spokesman for the hospital moved the microphones down for his height, his head barely above the top of the podium as he stood on a crate.

Reporters yelled out questions. "Josh! Josh! Can you tell us what happened? Did you see anything? Is it a miracle?"

He looked at his mother. "Go ahead, sweetie. It's okay." She said.

"I talked to an angel. He was really, really nice." Josh spoke softly.

"An angel? You saw an angel last night?" Another reporter yelled out his question.

"I think he was an angel." Josh shrugged.

"Did he say anything, Josh? What did he tell you?" A third reporter asked.

"Um. He told me a story about a sick boy who didn't want to be sick any more but the doctors couldn't make him better. And he said that the boy prayed to the stars every night. And that... um... that... one star got so sad that he... he bursted into tears and the tears floated from heaven and made the boy all better. And he said that if I prayed to a star I might get better too."

There were collective sighs from the crowd as they heard the boy's adorable account of the story.

"Mrs. Callaway, did you see this too?"

"I did." She said. "I'll never forget it. I didn't think anything at the time. Whether it was an angel or not, it's still a miracle. But the words... He told a fable and the final words said 'Behold, for I am the tears of the stars sent forth to heal all things.'" She began to tear up. "You'll have to excuse my emotion, but when I think about it now it's just so beautiful."

The hospital spokesman stepped in to handle additional questions that focused more on the specifics of the case. He was coached to use the proper medical terminology and avoid acknowledging claims of miracles altogether.

Stacy's big blue eyes were tearing up as she watched the television. "It really is beautiful." She said. "The tears of the stars."

Jackson smiled. He'd saved this boy. He looked at his sister with her long blonde, wavy curls hanging down about her face. He still puzzled over her actions earlier. It complicated their relationship, and made it harder to look at her the same way. But he liked having her near. He knew that much.

Fudge barked and his head perked up from the armchair where he settled himself earlier. His ears were at attention and his head cocked to the side. Then he barked again and hopped down running to the back door. Jackson went to the kitchen and opened the sliding door to see what he was yammering about.

Dana's car was at the end of the driveway. Fudge ran out wagging his tail and waiting to see who it was. Jackson stepped onto the deck, happy to see her. She looked radiant in her lime green skirt and her white blouse as she walked around her car.

"Hi." Jackson smiled. "You look stunning."

Dana was all business. "You said, 'he had a lot less than a week.' In the car last night, that's what you told me. Not 'has'. You said 'had'. You knew he would live. You knew that you saved his life."

Jackson wanted to embrace her, but she kept herself at a distance. "He wasn't going to live through the night."

"How do you know that?"

"I don't know! I don't know how I know. I just know."

"That's not good enough anymore, Jackson." She said full emotion. "What did you do to him?"

Sally Travers car pulled into the driveway and she hustled out toward Dana and Jackson. She felt as if she'd been left out of the loop on some big mystery.

"Jackson?" She called.

"Later, Sally" Dana said soberly, waving her off. "Jackson and I have something to discuss."

"Stay out of this, mom." He warned. He brought his attention back to Dana. "I fixed him. He was a five year old boy dying of cancer. Wouldn't you? Isn't that what you do? Fix people?"

"He wasn't fixable, Jackson. What did you do to him? How did you do it?" She demanded.

"I don't know!" He shouted flustered.

"Not good enough!" She said sternly. "What aren't you telling me?"

Sally joined her daughter on the deck unsure what was going on between these two.

"Jackson, did you heal that boy?" Stacy asked.

"Go inside you two?" He shouted back at them. He paced back and forth while Dana stood her ground. "What we talked about last night... do you remember?"

"Yes." She said. "Your hypothetical about what would happen if you could live forever and all that."

"And what would happen if you left all the knowledge behind..." He said.

"Don't waste my time, Jackson." She warned. "I'm not doing hypotheticals right now. I want answers."

"Come with me." He said marching off toward the barn. She stalked after him. He waited until she was inside and then closed the door giving them privacy. "Truth." He said seriously. "I found something in the woods. Something that I'm told was left for me by someone a long time ago. It was hidden deep underground. I... I know how that sounds. I would take you there. I would show it to you so you could see that I'm not making this up. Go in my climbing pack by the tool bench." He pointed. "Outer zipped pocket."

Dana walked to the bag and unzipped the pocket. She reached in and removed the only item inside, a medallion. "This?" She asked looking it over. "This is supposed to prove something to me?"

"I hope it will." Jackson said. "I know it sounds stupid, but I like you and it would break my heart if you think I would ever do something to make a fool out of you or to hurt you. I found that in this place underground along with some books that weren't... oh shit... just hear me out... weren't from this earth. What would you do if you were given all that knowledge? That's what I asked you. Someone gave it to me. And I don't know why. May I have that?" He reached for the medallion and as he clutched it in his hands the metal began to illuminate and glow its vibrant shade of green.

Dana took a step back looking on in disbelief. "What's happening?"

Jackson looked at her, his eyes glowing brighter than ever. She could see it now, the flecks of green in his gaze. "The person who buried the books isn't the person that wrote them. It gets more complicated. But he buried them there for me and left me a message coded on this medallion. The medallion is the key that opens them. To make it more confusing the information in the books was coded into me... genetically... but it doesn't come with instructions. I don't know how to use it. It came naturally when I saw Josh. I don't know what I did. Part of you should want to believe... my medical tests never made sense to you, right?" He paused judging her reaction. "So if you don't think I'm a total lunatic yet, I'm hoping that if you touch this with me, it will show you the message and you'll understand. What do you say? Leap of faith before you have me committed?"

"That's crazy, Jackson." She replied. Part of her dumbfounded that this was the answer he was offering. "Do you even hear yourself? What you're saying is crazy!"

"Maybe." He said quietly. "Leap of faith? For me? For the guy who loves your logic and reason and your big heart?

She reached out slowly and let her fingers touch the glowing metal. The shock surged through her until she was lost in a series of visions. Her eyes fluttered as she saw images of the cave and the submersion. She saw images of her and Jackson, images of their future, images of their child, and lastly, she saw images of him sitting at her bedside before she passed away. She was wrinkled with age but Jackson was still a twenty-five year old boy. Dana pulled her hand away with a sudden gasp as she collapsed to the ground crying. It took only a few minutes to see it all, but she felt like she had been in those visions for far longer.

"What was it? What did you see?" Jackson asked. "I couldn't see it."

"You'll fall in love with me." She said through her tears. She may have had feelings for him, but she just felt a lifetime of love he had for her. She lived it with him, as if it was a lifetime on fast forward, but all those emotions and feelings were real and raw. "Oh, Jackson, I'm so sorry. I... I just can't..." She ran toward her car.

"Where are you going?" He called after her, distraught. "I thought it would help you understand. I can try and explain it better. Please don't leave. Dana..."

He followed her to her car. Dana turned. It was almost too painful to look at him. "You don't need to explain it better. I understand." She brushed his cheek and looked at him with such caring eyes. She leaned in and kissed him passionately. "I need some time, Jackson. Please allow me some time. Okay?"

"Okay." He said, but he wasn't sure it was okay at all. He needed her. Instead he watched her drive away.

******

Sally Travers watched in disbelief as Dana kissed her son lewdly in the driveway. She was peering out of the kitchen window. She'd known Dana since she was an intern in medical school and watched her rise to a resident doctor faster than any woman at the hospital. But this changed everything. Dana wasn't a good Christian girl, not when she went around doing things like that, and it was worse that it happened with her own son.

Jackson looked distant as he opened the sliding door. His sister was sitting at the kitchen table waiting expectantly for some type of answer about Josh Callaway. His mother stared at him with judgmental eyes. She was wearing her scrubs with her shoulder length blonde hair and her green eyes narrowed. She was a slight thing, rather short but heavy chested. Despite her size, she had an imposing way about her.

"I saw what she did." His mother said flatly. "You better believe that I'll be discussing it with the administration at the hospital. We are a Catholic run organization, Jackson. I can't believe you let her stick her tongue down your throat like that. It was shameful. Is that why she drove you home last night? Did she try to work her wicked ways on you then too? I can't see us keeping someone like that on staff."

Jackson had so much going through his head and this was the last thing he needed. Everything in his life was changing and he had no control over it. He was quickly losing his patience for added complications. "Because she kissed me?" He asked incredulously.

"If you can call that a kiss!" She said. "Sticking her tongue down your throat with your mother and sister in the house?! Lord knows that woman could learn some modesty at the very least."

Stacy kept her eyes down at the table. Jackson felt bad for her. "I'm twenty-five years old, mom. I'll kiss whoever the hell I please. And from this point on, you'll stay out of my love life completely. I did the math years ago. You and dad would be married twenty-four years this year. What does that mean? He fucked you out of wedlock at twenty. And you're judging a kiss? If you so much as say a bad word about Dana at the hospital, I will raise holy hell and never speak to you again. Your judgment and your Holier-than-thou bullshit stop now."

"Jackson Travers, don't you ever speak to me like that. Oh Lord have mercy!" She shrilled.

"Leave the Lord out of this!" Jackson snapped back. "I'll continue to help out with the house and the bills like I have for the last seven years. I just don't think I can live under the same roof as you anymore. You can't see what a horribly judgmental person you've become. I'm going to stay in the barn until I can make it livable or until I can figure out another situation... or until you apologize for a lifetime of shit. I care about Stacy more than you ever will. I was here every day while you worked. Cooking, cleaning, homework, all of it. And I've never gotten a thank you. Never. Not once." He began to leave and then stopped looking back. He looked from his sister to his mom. "She deserved better than you as a mother, even if I didn't. There's only one person under this roof that should feel ashamed."

Sally's look was one of pure shock. "I... I did my best, Jackson... I did what the Lord would have..." But her words just trailed off, and her eyes watered and she stood there.

******

Stacy ran to her room and curled up on her bed. She couldn't believe it. Her whole crappy existence had shattered so quickly. The last month was the worst of her whole life. Her brother was sick and she was worried that he'd never come back to her. But now she found out that he was touched by God himself and healed a sick child. Then he stood up to momma. He was the most amazing person she'd ever known.

Thinking about it made all the tingling start between her legs again. She could be his woman, she thought. She'd take care of him and make him a beautiful home. Her eyes closed remembering his penis. She tried to think of it as a cock. That's the word his old girlfriend used and it sounded so nasty. It caused the butterflies in her stomach when she said it quietly to herself. All of the nasty thoughts made it gush down there and it got wet and sticky and hot. Oh god! Her heart fluttered. Why did she like such nasty thoughts? Why did she like the way they made her feel? She'd never been that kind of girl.

If Jackson could tell momma that enough was enough then she could do something bold too. She stood in front of her full length mirror and pulled off her short-sleeved cardigan. She looked at the plain white bra. It hurt sometimes when she wore it, but momma told her that buying a smaller size kept them pressed in and kept men from staring. It looked silly now the way her breasts tried flow around it. She unsnapped the bra and felt them in her hands. The pink nipples were stiff and sensitive. Then she lowered her full length skirt and cotton panties. Her blonde pubic hair created a nest between her thighs.