GL - A FEW DAYS MORE - Chapter 21
TITLE: A Few Days More
FANDOM: Guiding Light
PAIRING: Otalia
SUMMARY: Set mid-friendship, this will contain elements of hurt/comfort as I'm a hurt/comfort junkie. Olivia, Natalia and Emma have returned from their few days away and follows canon around the 'Decker days'...hopefully more interesting than the summary suggests. Please request before archiving.
RATING: PG for now
AUTHOR's NOTE: This is my second attempt at fanfic and I have to say I am more nervous with this one than the first, partly because I fear there could be a level of expectation to overcome. So please be gentle with me, I hope you enjoy the formula I have decided to go with this time because personally, I think the best Otalia story and in particular ‘hurt/comfort’ story was the one shown on TV. As always my thanks to my Canadian Buddy, Critic2000, who read this through and offered useful suggestions and insight, let alone put up with my endless angst and anguish as to whether this story would be worth posting, bless ‘er.
An additional thanks to those of you who have actively encouraged me to right this sequel and offered your support, it truly is an inspiration
ADDITIONAL NOTE: This does loosely follow on from my first story 'A Few Days Away' hence I have said it is a sequel but as I never fully intended to write this, it’s been an interesting experience to find a way to make it fit within the time period I wanted to cover, therefore please gloss over any inconsistencies from one story to the next. It is not essential to have read the first story, but some things may make more sense if you do. As stated previously we are starting to wander into territory that I am not so well versed in and although I have attempted to do research, searching for clips etc and consulting with some of the great people on this board who are willing to offer their memory skills and knowledge on all things GL (not forgetting how sincerely grateful I am to them!)... if there are any inconsistencies or errors against canon then the fault is entirely my own!
Okay, a couple of things I should mention.
First, a huge THANKS to those offering up suggestions for the final chapter it is very much appreciated and I realise not exactly an easy thing to do if you don't know what you're trying to 'fit' it into.
Second, a big THANKS to those who offered insight into some of the upcoming scenes as I've struggled to find clips or be sure of my GL history here so any mistakes made are purely my own.
Third, posted this on IF nearly a fortnight ago but had major trouble with formatting on here and no time to try and correct it until now... sorry!
Without further ado, here is Chapter 21 to try and take us a little further down the road to the conclusion - enjoy!
DISCLAIMERS: I do not own Guiding Light or any of the characters.
( Chapter 1 ) ( Chapter 2 ) ( Chapter 3 ) ( Chapter 4 ) ( Chapter 5 ) ( Chapter 6 ) ( Chapter 7 ) ( Chapter 8 ) ( Chapter 9 ) ( Chapter 10 ) ( Chapter 11 ) ( Chapter 12 ) ( Chapter 13 ) ( Chapter 14 ) ( Chapter 15 ) ( Chapter 16 ) ( Chapter 17 ) ( Chapter 18 ) ( Chapter 19 ) ( Chapter 20 )
Chapter 21
“Oh?” Natalia was really intrigued now. Did this mean Jeffrey had no clue either? At what point did he find out he was the father? Does that mean Jeffrey and Olivia weren’t together, well in a relationship kind of way?
Olivia remembered the heated conversation, Jeffrey’s unwillingness to help her, his reluctance to go digging around in San Cristobel and his suggestion she leave the past there but she did what she was good at, especially when she really wanted something and she threatened him, threatened to stalk him and to be everywhere he turned. If she had known who she was asking at the time, she would have done something stronger she was sure.
She felt the pressure again as it was in the dream pushing down on her, pinning her. It was suffocating and scary and she would not give in to it now. Not here.
A hand covered hers and she released her grip on the jar.
What am I missing? Natalia wondered as Olivia unclenched her white-knuckled hold. For a moment she seemed to slip away from her again. At this point I don’t know if this is helping or hurting her.
Natalia wanted her to continue, she realized she was being selfish but she also recognized the enormous opportunity here to learn about Olivia’s past. She debated whether she should say something and give her an out or indulge her own needs but Olivia beat her to it and carried on.
“I went back to San Cristobel,” Olivia explained glossing over Jeffrey’s involvement and feeling anchored once more. “I needed to put my mind at ease, I mean can you imagine? My little girl wakes up and the first thing she wants to know is about her sister? A sister she should have no concept of and no idea about. How in the world could she possibly know?” It still amazed her. “I um… managed to get my hands on the hospital file.”
Natalia held back the giggle she knew was inappropriate as Olivia lifted one brow and gave her an adorably roguish look.
“I even managed to track down the family who adopted her but Sutton, he was the father well, was… he explained he and his ex-wife divorced and she took my child with her. All I needed was their name and he couldn’t remember it.”
Olivia laughed but it lacked its usual levity, “That’s when the hounds caught up with me. Coop convinced Frank I should be arrested and Frank convinced Buzz I was on the run. Somehow he managed to ‘let slip’ where I’d gone and they tracked me down to arrest me.”
Natalia blinked surprised. She could imagine the betrayal Olivia would have felt, the Coopers were generally a clan of good guys. She rubbed Olivia’s leg again in sympathy, “So you were arrested?”
“Uh huh, when I got back to Springfield things were getting serious. They held me in interrogation and Doris, who was the District Attorney back then, was looking to prosecute me for attempted murder.” She shook her head as if the information was incorrect and then counted off on her fingers as she clarified, “Actually the whole list of charges involved vehicular assault, drunk driving and attempted murder. Seemed with Ava’s testimony I was a sure thing and Emma was going to lose her mommy.”
Even though she said it lightly, Natalia could tell it was forced and Olivia was still hurt by it.
At this point, Olivia was beginning to wish for something stronger than water, maybe a good strong pick me up would do the trick, except they didn’t have any.
Shaking her head she said, “You know the scariest moment was when they gave me back my cell, Frank knew I was going to be there a while and he was kind enough to realize I’d need to organize a sitter for Emma.” She took a breath remembering, “There was a message on there.”
“Ms Spencer, it’s me. About your little problem, Ava Peralta. Since you didn’t mention how loud you wanted me to take it with the young lady, I’ve got to assume we’re talking ten, as in all the way. Just wanted to let you know I’m on her. She won’t be bothering you anymore.”
Olivia was terrified. A ten? That was certainly not part of the bargain. She was in enough trouble now as it was but she could probably easily fight the attempted murder charge with pleas of temporary insanity but if he followed through on her ‘job’ she would be doomed and Emma along with her. She would not let that happen.
It was only through the reprieve of having one of the Coopers turn up that allowed her to finally make a return call and thankfully she managed to get through to him.
“Good. I caught you. Thank God. You haven’t…”
“Not yet.”
“The job is off. Do you hear me? Don’t do it.”
“Would you mind repeating that?”
“Don’t do it. I will pay you but do not do anything, do you understand? Are we clear?”
“We’re clear.”
Natalia was still uncomfortable knowing Olivia could even possibly consider an idea like a hit man, it was perverse. She glanced up when Olivia sucked in a sharp breath and jerked beneath her and then realized she was grabbing at her injured knee.
“Oh god, Olivia, I’m sorry.” She released her hold.
“It’s okay,” Olivia forced out a heavy breath through clenched teeth to relieve the pain, “I know this upsets you. I’m sorry for that, I really am. It was stupid; I know it was stupid but…” She shrugged again.
“But you called him off? You stopped him.” Why does Olivia look so guilty? “Olivia?”
“I did,” she confirmed. “I would have left it at that but Ava…”
Flashes of a dream of not that long ago assaulted her, the accusations, her attempts to reason with them, that everything she did was to protect herself, protect Emma, protect… “What about Ava?” the voice called out, “how many times did you try to hurt her?” Another voice, another dream, “Everything you ever do hurts them, hurts all the people you claim to love.” She hated that voice, a constant companion shadowing every thought, every action. She flinched.
“Olivia?” Natalia watched in fascination as Olivia drifted away. She was shaking, her limbs vibrating against Natalia’s lap obviously lost to a memory. When she recoiled sharply Natalia reacted shooting out her hand to grasp Olivia’s arm in fear of her falling off the couch. “Hey now, come on… calm down.”
Olivia’s head jerked so she was staring at her as she drew in ragged breaths.
“Where did you go to just now? Are you alright?”
Rubbing her face with both hands and then drawing them back through her hair Olivia shook herself, frustrated. “I’m fine,” she huffed out, she was getting angry and it was hard to channel the anger in her current position. With some reluctance she sat up and swung her legs round to the floor, she wanted to move around.
“You know what?” Olivia stood, confident the residual animosity she still felt would keep her upright, “Yes, I did stop him from harming Ava and for a while I was so relieved. Was it self-serving? Yes, there was no way I was going to let her be responsible for my going to jail but for whatever reason she wouldn’t let it end there. She threatened to press charges and then did the one thing guaranteed to make me lose all sense of reason and sanity, she threatened to take Emma.”
Olivia was on a roll now, her anger serving to justify her actions all over again, the voices be damned. She paced the length of the room and turned to stand behind the chair, bracing against its back with clenched fists.
“I think I’ve told you once before how many people have tried to take Emma from me?”
Natalia nodded, unwilling to interrupt.
“Well with Emma being in the hospital and all the other allegations the principal of her school phoned, can you believe that? She phoned me concerned about Emma’s home life as if I was capable of…”
She couldn’t finish the thought, it was too unthinkable.
“Nobody threatens me, nobody, not her, not Ava and not Doris!” She thumped at the chair back to punctuate her anger.
“I’d paid the fee as promised but I’d asked him to consider it a deposit of sorts, just in case. When Ava failed to back off…”
“You contacted him again.”
“Hello?”
“It’s your client. You were hired to do a job for me in the elevator the other day and I cancelled.”
“What about it?”
“Well, I thought the problem had gone away but it hasn’t apparently. It’s just getting worse. So I need your services after all.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“The sooner the better.”
“Okay but there could be a problem. I need a certain person alone and she’s usually hanging around some young guy.”
“I’ll handle that. She’ll be alone. Just… just do it. Do it fast.”
Natalia was horrified. “So you… you were actually going to help him? Make it easier for him?”
Olivia nodded, her anger diffusing at the look of disappointment she had so badly wanted to avoid seeing in Natalia’s eyes, the disappointment in her.
It was a lot to take in, aiding and abetting in a crime and worse, the crime of murder which was so far removed from Natalia’s line of thinking and sensibilities she didn’t know what to do with it. The fact that Ava was up and walking around and clearly had a good relationship with her mother today, couldn’t seem to completely eradicate the feeling of disgust Olivia could even consider such a thing.
Natalia understood the possible insanity, the conditions surrounding Olivia’s previous attempts to cause Ava harm but this was way beyond that. This was cold, calculated. She wasn’t denying Olivia could justify her actions but this was extreme, almost irreconcilable and it hurt, hurt her in ways she couldn’t explain.
“Natalia… Natalia please, let me explain.”
Olivia was pleading with her, her face full of anguish.
There has to be more, Natalia reasoned. There has to be something more and I’m just not understanding it completely. She considered all she knew of Olivia, all she thought she knew and tried to order those thoughts in a way which would mean she could breathe again and not feel the terrible loss Olivia’s revelation caused.
“Natalia…”
Natalia watched as Olivia closed her eyes and tears made a silent path down her face.
“Please,” Olivia swallowed, “Please let me explain what happened next. I know what I did was unforgiveable. I know it.” She ran a hand through her hair and clasped the side of her head in demonstration, “These damn dreams don’t ever let me forget it but please hear me out, don’t…”
She stopped and sucked in another breath.
Natalia waited, intrigued by what Olivia was asking and what she hadn’t said. “Don’t what?”
In a quiet voice that spoke volumes Olivia answered, “Don’t judge me.”
The defensive posture was back and if Natalia had been that kind of woman she knew she had the power to destroy Olivia in that moment. Fortunately, Natalia wasn’t that kind of woman.
With infinite compassion Natalia tucked away her revulsion and crossed to where Olivia stood. She looked broken, wary as Natalia approached.
There is definitely something more going on here, Natalia thought and then reached out to draw Olivia into a hug, the older woman sobbing her relief as she collapsed into her, burrowing her face into her shoulder and wrapping her arms around Natalia with an almost crushing intensity.
They stood that way for a while, Natalia rubbing a soothing hand up and down Olivia’s back as she cried. Eventually Olivia pulled back and wiped her eyes again, “I’m sorry. I really need to stop doing that.”
Natalia looked at her appraisingly, “Well, you know they say it’s supposed to keep you looking younger?”
“It is?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow, I must look like a teenager again.”
“Eh…” Natalia waggled her hand as if that was pushing it a bit.
They both laughed, both knowing they had weathered yet another storm.
“Thank you,” Olivia said.
“De nada,” Natalia waved her hand at her dismissing it and turned to go sit down again.
“No, really,” Olivia said in all seriousness and grabbed at her arm to halt her, “Thank you.”
Natalia nodded, “I don’t really understand it Olivia but I guess I…” She hesitated and then threw some cards down on the table, “I guess I understand you.”
Olivia smiled, a warmth spreading over her.
She needed to sit down.
“Did you want something else to drink?” Natalia asked, hopeful for an excuse to leave the room for a moment and calm her own shaking insides.
“Are you sure we don’t have any alcohol left?”
Natalia pulled a disapproving face, “There’s a little milk left, some coffee. I think there were some tea bags, I’m not sure.”
It wasn’t her usual beverage of choice but the idea of it sounded soothing to her, “Tea please, if we have some.”
Natalia nodded and scooped up their cups on the way out of the room.
Olivia listened to the sounds of water being run and cups being prepared. She felt like she was running a gauntlet and had managed to negotiate a particularly tricky test. There had been a moment, a sickening moment when she genuinely believed Natalia was done with her and the intensity of it was so great she thought she might die, there and then. But she was still here and amazingly, so was Natalia.
***
Natalia took her time putting the drinks together. Buzz had fortunately thrown in some herbal tea bags and she looked out the window as she waited for the water to boil.
Emma was still in view, clearly captivated by the world around her and Natalia wondered if she was hungry or thirsty yet. Unlike her mother however, Natalia was sure Emma would eat when she was ready.
Natalia thought about Emma’s mother as she watched the child. I wonder if you realize what your mother put herself through for you. Not that I would want you to know. I just hope you know how much she loves you.
It was partly because of this mother’s love Natalia was able to overlook some of Olivia’s other traits because surely no one capable of such love could really have evil in their heart.
The water was ready and she poured it into the cups to let the tea steep.
Olivia took one of the cups from her as Natalia reentered the lounge.
“Buzz threw in some chamomile, guess he was thinking the dinner might get out of hand and we’d all need to calm down.” And hopefully it’ll help you to relax a bit as well.
Olivia chuckled as she dipped her teabag up and down, “Well Buzz is such a cultured individual.”
“Hm, well aside from the little stunt he pulled last night, he’s been very kind to me.”
Olivia nodded, “I don’t know what I would have done back then if not for Buzz. He may have decided I was more than he could handle but he came back you know. He came back to apologize but I guess things had moved on by then and in the end, it was me who sent him away.”
Overwrought at how quickly everything was starting to unravel and fall apart, Olivia hurried to achieve her goal. She was aware to some she would appear paranoid but what was the saying about sometimes if people were out to get you?
She had tried to calm down after her vocal tirade on Jane who had allowed Ava to see Emma but it had been too late, she had started the ball rolling again on her plan to be rid of the irritating little pixie and was now endeavoring to fulfill her part of it.
She was therefore rather surprised and a little put out to see Buzz.
“Going somewhere?” he asked.
Buzz had decided for them earlier in the day that they needed to ‘take a break’ from each other and she thought he would be on a flight by now to the Restaurant Owners Convention in New Orleans. For a brief moment she believed they were all going there together, Emma, Buzz and her on a little mini vacation but he wanted to go alone. Something about taking himself out of the equation until things calmed down. To Olivia he was running away, running because Ava had pushed him to.
She recovered quickly, “Emma’s inside. I just needed to get some air. I thought that you…”
“Well, yeah, I got to the airport and then I… I realized I was a jerk and I came back. You’re right, I was running… and I thought I was done with that. I am, I am… I don’t know. The most important thing to me right now is us, so I just want to fix it. The way to get it done is together, here. So, okay? Please?”
She listened to him and his stumbling apology feeling an enormous weight lifting from her shoulders, “Oh, you just made this day so much better.”
Her cell phone rang. “Shoot, I’m sorry.” She smiled apologetically at him and promised, “I’ll get rid of it, whoever it is. Just give me a sec.”
She took the call, “Hello?”
A man’s voice she vaguely recognized spoke at the end of the line, “Ms Spencer?”
“Yeah.”
“This is Greg Sutton.”
“Sorry?” Olivia’s mind was awhirl knowing she had somewhere to be and Buzz waiting for her, she couldn’t place the name.
“You came to visit me at my job site the other day. My ex-wife and I adopted your baby girl back in…”
“Yes, yes. How are you?” Was she really going to be that lucky that on the day one of her problems disappeared and Buzz came back to her, she would find out what happened to her other daughter as well?
“Do you still want to know where she is? I left you a couple of messages.”
She looked at her cell, messages? Of course she wanted to know, “No, I never got them, yes, yes, tell me.”
“It came to me. I remembered the name of the guy my ex-wife married. Birdie's stepfather.”
“Oh okay, give it to me.”
“His name was Peralta, P-e-r-a-l-t-a.”
“Uh… no… I'm confused.” This couldn’t be right, he had to be wrong. “You said that her name was Birdie.”
“Birdie was just a nickname we gave her. Her given name was Ava. Your daughter's name is Ava Peralta.”
Olivia felt sick. Was this some kind of cosmic joke?
Buzz obviously picking up on her distress asked, “What's wrong?”
“You have to go.”
“Who was that?” he asked, clearly staying put for the moment.
The absolute horror of what she had set in motion washed through her and she needed Buzz to go, “You have to go. You were right-- you were right the first time. We need a break from each other, Buzz.”
“That's how you feel? You want me to be gone?”
She admired his calm but she couldn’t let him stay, she needed time to think. She nodded at him to convince him of her conviction.
“Olivia?”
“Just go,” she demanded, “Go to the convention. I'll see you when you come back.” She turned away from him then, turned so she wouldn’t have to look at his dismayed face, mouth open in surprise at her suddenly hard demeanor.
She didn’t know when he walked away, already too deeply enmeshed in the painful memory of giving birth. “No,” she couldn’t believe it, “no, she can't be my daughter.”
That was when the reality, closely followed by panic began to set in.
“That must have been some shock when he spelled out her name to you.”
“You have no idea. Of course I didn’t want to believe it at first, this nemesis of mine actually flesh and blood,” Olivia huffed. “I guess that’s actually quite fitting in a way.”
Natalia was more than intrigued by that statement and wondered again about Olivia’s family and her relationship with them. She had certainly learned more in the last several hours about Olivia’s past than she thought she ever would and she sincerely hoped it was going to prove to be beneficial to Olivia as well.
It seemed the tea was doing the trick, the pair of them reclined on the couch and Natalia had resumed her earlier position with Olivia’s legs draped over her lap. Olivia appeared at ease and much calmer now that Natalia was staying put. In fact, it was as if the worst of it was over.
Is there really anything worse than hiring someone to harm another individual? Natalia wondered. Is it worse than committing the act yourself? God, I can’t believe I’m even thinking about this.
She watched as Olivia sipped at her tea, wondering if she could coax the rest of the story from her, there was obviously more to tell and she definitely wanted to hear it.
Natalia chewed on what she had been told so far but the words which rang out louder than any other were the quiet ones Olivia had practically sobbed…‘Don’t judge me’, she said. What happened to you Olivia? Natalia queried and with a flash of unexpected insight asked… who [/i]happened to you?[/i]
Olivia was debating the therapeutic properties of bearing her soul, hopeful a good night’s sleep was in the offing and the continued presence of her stalwart friend. She’s still here. She wanted to scream at the voices who had taunted her and release the little bubble of joy expanding in her chest, she’s still here!
“So at the risk of repeating myself, what happened next?”
“Well,” Olivia shrugged, “I found out Ava was my daughter.”
Natalia pulled a face at her, “You can’t leave it there? I mean, I know you hired a… a…”
“A hit man.”
“Yes, one of those… I know Ava is okay now but did he get to her? Did you stop him?”
Olivia smiled a little at how enthused Natalia was in her story, in her and with a deep understanding realized she could not deny her.
“Well I’d been told who my daughter was but as I said, I didn’t believe it. Not at first… I wanted proof.”
Returning to her hotel suite, hanging on to her disbelief, Olivia called Greg Sutton again. In her mind she was convinced this was a set up, a sick joke. “It's Olivia Spencer again. Look, I don't know where you're getting your information but I know an Ava Peralta and there is no way in hell that she is my daughter and I will prove it.”
That’s what she needed, proof.
She thought for a moment, where can I get the proof I need? There has to be something, anything...
A plan in mind she called out to the nanny on the way to the door, “Jane, I'm going out. Don't let anyone in here. Keep Emma close you got it?”
Taking the lift to Ava’s floor Olivia used her keycard to gain entry. Nervously she surveyed the room and did a quick check of the bureau. When the drawers yielded nothing she cast her eye over the papers strewn on the top and stumbled across a photo album, slipping it into her bag mere moments before Coop shouted behind her and made her jump.
“Hey! What the hell are you doing?”
“I just needed to check the uh… plumbing.” She turned to the bathroom area hopeful Coop would accept such a painfully bad ruse.
“Uh-huh. What's wrong with it?”
“Ah… it’s this whole floor. There’s a, there’s a leak somewhere but I think we're safe here.”
“We're safe in here because Ava is at work.”
Always with the little digs. “Well you know what? I think we’re good so I’m just gonna go.”
“Yeah, Olivia why don’t you do that?”
“Okay.” Olivia headed for the door, “Sorry, Coop.”
It would take too long to go back to her room and as she couldn’t wait she stood in the hallway, oblivious to the possibility Coop may exit the room and find her there. She was too on edge with finding out the truth.
Removing the album from her bag the pages fell open to a well worn and obviously often viewed spot which could only be a picture of Ava’s ‘mother’. Fishing out the picture she had of the Suttons, she placed them side by side and there was no mistaking the comparison. The woman who had adopted her child was the same as the woman in the photos.
Needing more proof and still not willing to believe Olivia thumbed through more of the album. The photo of a young girl stopped her, “Why does she have pictures of Emma?”
Her blood chilled, “Wait, that's, that’s not Emma, that’s Ava.” Oh my god! Ava is my daughter. She’s… “Oh, what have I done?”
“You broke into her room?” Natalia’s eyes were wide as she asked the question.
“Technically no… I had a keycard.”
“Olivia…”
“Hey, it’s my hotel. I had every right to be there.”
Natalia continued to look at her.
“Anyway,” Olivia moved them along, “I needed proof, I got it.”
Shaking her head at the logic of the woman she cared deeply for Natalia let the charge of petty theft drop and asked, “It must have been strange to see what you thought was a picture of Emma. How long did it take for you to make the connection? That it was really Ava you were looking at?”
“Not long but at the time it felt long enough. With the proof in my hand I just remember the terror I had doomed my daughter to death.”
To lose a child was bad enough, to lose one because you willed it… Natalia shuddered. “I don’t think I can even begin to imagine.”
“Good. It was stupid. Ranks right up there as one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done.”
I wonder what you consider your stupidest? Natalia rubbed at Olivia’s conveniently placed leg in sympathy. “So what did you do?”
She paced the hallway, adrenaline fueling her as she dialed her cell, “Pick up, Gillespie pick up. Disconnected? No! No!” She tried another number, “Ava? Voice mail! No!”
Panicked she lunged at the hotel room door, “Coop, open up!”
He threw the door open meeting her desperation with aggression, “What? What now, Olivia?”
“Ava, Ava have you talked to her?”
“Yeah I knew this wasn’t about a faucet.”
She didn’t have time for his petty jibes, “Have you talked to her?”
“No, I haven’t talked to her or seen her since this morning when she left for work. Alright, she calls me when she gets there.”
“I need to talk to her.”
“Why? Olivia, what is this about?”
“Where is she, Coop?”
“Look I don't know where she is okay? Why do you care so much, do you want to run her down with your car again?”
It hurt, “No, no.” He doesn’t understand, he doesn’t get it, she’s my daughter. Her hands were starting to shake, frustration forcing tears to fall.
“Leave her alone Olivia, do us a favor and leave her alone.” He backed up into the room, preparing to slam the door on her.
“No please Coop, wait, wait, wait.” She wedged herself in the doorway preventing him from shutting her out. “I was in her room obviously with all her things and I started to think she's just a girl, she probably didn't mean to hurt Emma.”
“You're just realizing this now?”
The tears were in earnest, she had no doubts from the look Coop was giving her that she looked as if she had lost her mind but she had to fix this. “I can fix this. I can fix this. I've been awful to her and I just want to apologize.” I need to apologize, she’s my daughter. Damn it! Where is she? Keep it together… Coop, Coop could find her.
“So you go find her. Find her. Go to Spaulding, go to Company, wherever, but you find her and you call me. Call me.”
“Did Coop find her?”
Olivia shook her head and bowed it slightly. “I reasoned if I couldn’t find Ava then I’d look for Gillespie.”
“You went to see this man on your own? Olivia that could’ve been dangerous.”
Olivia smiled and reached for Natalia’s hand, thankful for the caring indignation. “Yes it could’ve been and I won’t lie it was a little scary but I didn’t go on my own exactly.”
“Frank thanks for doing this.”
They were walking together down the corridor of a guesthouse just outside of town. Absently Olivia took note of the décor and cringed a little at the heavy watercolour prints lining the walls.
“Okay, what's going on here, Olivia.”
Olivia had been dreading this moment, concocting a story on the way over here to enable Frank to lend his assistance without further damaging her own chances at a life on the outside. “I know I was vague. There's this guy Gillespie, he's, he’s blackmailing me and I don't want to go into detail with you.”
“Good because I don't think I want to hear about it right now.”
That was fine by her as she ignored Frank’s attempt to show his displeasure at her, “Are you sure he's here?”
“Yes, this is the address I tracked him to. I didn't want you showing up here all by yourself.”
“No, yeah…” She need a minute with Gillespie alone, needed to know that Ava was okay and there was too much risk he might implicate her to save his own skin. Knowing Frank to be a good guy and playing a bit on his chivalrous nature she reacted as if something had just occurred to her, “Oh, my bag.”
“Your what?”
“My bag. I left it in the car and I need it but it's so creepy and dark down there.”
“Now listen, I'll go and get it but if you see Gillespie, you scream at the top of your lungs.”
“Yeah,” she watched him walk away, hopeful she would have enough time to do what she needed to do.
The door next to her creaked open and Gillespie appeared, “My fatal employer. What a pleasant surprise.”
Before she could react the door was opened wide enough for Gillespie to reach out and grab her to pull her inside.
Annoyed, Olivia tried to take control of the situation, “I have been calling and calling you.”
Gillespie seemed unconcerned and sat on the bed, reaching under it to grab a duffel bag and started to stuff his clothes into it. He was smug and full of himself as he demonstrated his intelligence and clandestine prowess, “But the number's disconnected, right? Just covering my tracks.”
Olivia was not so impressed. “You cut off your employer in the middle of a job?”
“After the job.”
Olivia went numb, “After the j...” She trailed off, swallowing to moisten her suddenly dry mouth enough to ask, “Is Ava okay?”
“Is Ava okay? You didn't hire me to make her okay.”
“What did you do?”
“She's a tough one.” He stood and continued to gather his things to pack. “Went down fighting.”
“You screwed up!” Olivia shouted at him.
“Nah, not me, I…”
“I wanted you to scare her.”
“I did the job.”
“Let her know that I could make her life miserable, get her out of my face, not kill her.”
“It's been done, Ms. Spencer. You're too late.”
His confident arrogance enraged Olivia, the possibility her daughter, her firstborn was dead because of this smug bastard, a bastard she herself had sent… No, she hadn’t asked for this. “No, you went too far. What kind of animal are you?”
“I did what you hired me to do.”
“No, I didn't hire a killer.” She hadn’t had she? Wanting him to stop his casual movement around the room as he prepared to leave and to make him focus on her, she launched herself at him, her hands clenched into fists ready to beat an answer out of him, “Tell me she's okay.”
He was a strong man who simply picked her up and threw her down onto the bed but Olivia would not give up, she had to know, “You didn't hurt her.”
He was straddling her now, his hands pressing down onto her stomach and she couldn’t move.
“Olivia?” The hand which had been holding hers had gone limp and cold and Olivia appeared to trail off in her account. “Olivia?”
***
She was pinned down, unable to move.
In the distance she could hear music and her throat burned with the taste of smoky alcohol.
She felt dread.
Horror.
She wanted to gag.
Too late to save her.
“You left her there to die.”
Loss overwhelmed her.
Too late.
To be continued...
Flashback scene #1 taken from episode 25th Sept 2006 and scene #2 taken from episode 28th Sept 2006 - I have been unable to find clips for these scenes but if anyone is aware of them, please post them or let me know so I can update.
Flashback scene #3 taken from episodes 28th & 29th Sept 2006; scene #4 and #5 taken from episode 29th Sept 2006 and scene #6 taken from episodes 29th Sept & 2nd Oct 2006 which can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8NuDH13688...feature=related and here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTuJGV8ZwnA...=1&index=38 with thanks to eriklovessoaps for the clips