Episode Eleven

Bowen House - Febuary 1994

Mike pulled his car up onto the curb in his rush. He didn't even bother to shut off the engine before he jumped out and ran up to the house. As he reached the porch, a stretcher came out with a body in a bag. Mike looked up at Malcolm. "No," he whispered.

Malcolm looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry, Mike."

Mike started to follow the stretcher, but stopped when he heard Malcom speak again.

"Jamie's inside."

Mike turned back to the house and ran inside, desperate to see his son and terrified that the boy was hurt or dead too. He didn't know whether to be relieved or devastated when he saw Jamie, alive, curled up on the couch. He walked over and crouched down on the floor, swallowing convusively when he saw the bloodstain on the carpet and the blood on Jamie's clothes.

"He's not hurt," a paramedic reported. "Just in shock."

"Can you blame him?" Mike asked angrily. He sat on the edge of the couch and gently rubed Jamie's back. "Shorty?" he whispered.

Jamie looked up at him, his eyes filled with tears. "Daddy? Somebody hurt Mommy."

Mike picked Jamie up and held him tight. "It'll be okay. I won't let the bad man get away with it," he promised. "I'll make sure he pays.

Bowen Apartmet - Present

Mike bolted upright in bed, a cold sweat drenching his body. He had never dreamed about that night before, had tried to forget what it had felt like to come home to that scene. Nine years wasn't long enough to grieve. It just wasn't.

Harris Home

"Why do we even have to start packing now?" David asked, his mother. "You and Mike aren't even getting married for two more months, and you haven't even found a new house yet! I'll bet Jamie isn't packing his stuff up yet."

"We're moving our things as soon as we do find a house, David," Rebecca replied. "And that will be soon since Mike and I are looking today. And I'm sure Jamie is packing all ready."

"No, he's too busy driving around in his jeep. How the hell did Mike afford that thing anyway? It's not fair that Jamie, who's completely broke, gets an almost new jeep and I get a ten year-old car that's rusting!"

"Grow up!" Jenny Harris said as she entered the kitchen. "Mom, where's my sleeping bag? I'm staying over at Tessa's tonight."

"It's in the linen closet, top shelf," Rebecca replied. "David, go help your sister get it down."

David rolled his eyes but did what he was told.

The phone rang and Rebecca answered it. "Hello, Harris residence."

"Hey babe," came the reply.

Rebecca smiled. "Hi, Mike. What's up? Your not cancelling our house hunt, are you?"

"Becca," Mike started. "I have to."

"Why?"

"When we made the plans... I forgot what today was."

"What do you mean?"

"Becca," Mike repeated. "It's the nine year anniversary of the day Elizabeth died. It's hitting Jamie extra hard this year, and he needs me to stay home with him."

"He's 16, Mike," Rebecca replied. "He's not some child."

"He watched his mother die, Rebecca. That's not something you get over."

"Mike, we need to find a house."

"We can look tomorrow."

"Mike..."

"We'll look tomorrow."

"Fine," Rebecca said.

"I love you," Mike replied.

"I love you, too." Rebecca hung up the phone and grimaced as David returned.

"What's wrong?" David asked.

"Mike cancelled the house hunt because today is the anniversary of Jamie's mother's death."

"This is why you shouldn't marry him, Mom. He's never gonna get over that woman."

Rebecca sighed and leaned against the counter.

Grant Mansion

"I'm glad you decided to join me," Miranda said to her closest friend, Catherine Randall.

"Well, what else am I going to do?" Catherine replied. "Though honestly I should be taking Laura to Cheyenne so she can buy a Valentine's Dance dress. David's taking her of course."

"Oh that can wait a day or two," Miranda said. "I must say, David isn't completely horrible choice. Even if he doesn't have money to our standards. But, then again, neither did your Laurence."

"But, Laurence had the potential. Honestly, though, at times I wish I had met Mike first."

Miranda chuckled. "He's a little young for you, Catherine."

"The age difference is less than your age compared to Daniel's," Catherine replied. "You're closer in age to Daniel Jr!"

"Point taken," Miranda replied. There was a knock on the door. "Come in," she called.

Annie Grant, Miranda's daughter, entered. "Hello, mother. Mrs. Randall."

"Good morning, Annalise," Catherine replied, smiling.

"Is there something we can do for you, darling?"

"I just wanted you to know I was going out for a bit. Richard invited me to go with him and a friend to see Victoria Edison."

"Victoria Edison... now who is she, darling?" Miranda asked.

"Richard and I went to school with her. Now she owns EdiSigns, the fashion company," Annie replied.

"Oh, that's right. Yes, go have fun. It's good to see you associating with someone of proper social stature."

"Thank you, mother. I'll see you later."

When the door was closing, Catherine smiled. "It is good. Unlike your son dating the little latina girl."

Miranda snorted. "Aaron needs to learn a little about class distinctions."

"The only reason Laura associates with Jamie is because he's her cousin. Otherwise she wouldn't go near him."

Outside, Annie rolled her eyes as she headed for the door. She let the butler, Miles, help her put her coat on, then quickly left to go meet Richard and Hannah at the EdiSigns offices.

Bowen Apartment

Jamie sat on one end of the couch, flipping channels aimlessly.

"You're making me dizzy," Mike joked as he sat down.

"Haha," Jamie muttered. "Aren't you suppose to be meeting Rebecca?"

"I cancelled."

"Why?"

"You know why."

"She's gonna get jealous of mom's memory," Jamie said, playing with the frayed end of the blanket that sat on the back of the couch.

"She knows you're mom is always going to be important to me, but she also knows your mom is gone and won't be coming back. There's nothing to be jealous of. Besides, honestly, this is more about you than your mom. You need me today."

"I'm not a little kid."

"No, but I know you still miss your mom and you've been dreaming about her. So have I."

"You have?"

Mike nodded. "I did lat night. It was about... about that night. But most of mine are just... dreams. Of what it'd be like if she had lived. What she would say to me about Rebecca."

"If she was alive she'd tell you that you better not marry Rebecca or you'd be a bigamist," Jamie joked.

Mike chuckled and reached over and ruffled Jamie's hair. "Brat."

"Well!"

"She'd be proud of you," Mike said seriously.

"She would?"

"Yeah. You have an amazing talent," he said, nudging Jamie's sketchbook with his foot. "You make friends with someone based on who they are, not who their family is. And you've managed to always forgive Maria for the stuff she does to bug you."

"I told mom that day that I'd never be Maria's friend again, and mom said I would be. She was right."

"She usually was," Mike said, smiling as he though of his first love. "She was smart like that."

"Do you miss her?"

"Of course," Mike replied without hesitation.

"Do you still love her?"

"I could never stop."

Jamie nodded, then was quiet for a moment before asking his next question. "Do you love her more than Rebecca?"

Mike inhaled sharply, not expecting that. "I..."

"Nevermind. Forget I asked," Jamie said quickly. He changed the channel again. "Ugh. Wrestling. Why do people find a pair of guys in latex grabbing eachother entertaining?" he asked, changing the subject.

EdiSigns Offices - Toria's Office

Toria sat at her desk, her feet up, and looked through the applications for models. "With a nose that size?" she muttered, snorting slightly as she tossed the application into the trash.

"Didn't you have a nose bigger than that?"

Toria looked up and grinned. "Richie! Han! Annie!" she cried excitedly, jumping up and runing over to her old friends. "It's so great to see you guys!"

"It's great to see you, too, Tor!" Annie replied, beaming.

Toria returned the smile, then smacked Richard's shoulder. "My nose wasn't that big!"

"Ow!" Richard replied, laughing. "Sorry, Vicki."

"Ugh, don't call me that! I was such a geek in high school. It's Toria now. Doesn't that sound more sophisticated and classy?"

"Classy is highly over rated," Annie replied.

"This from rich girl Annie."

Annie rolled her eyes. "Trust me, I'd give every cent up to have a family that doesn't think there's something wrong with being poor. Do you know that mother thinks it's so wonderful I was coming to see Toria, because she's of the 'proper social stature?" she said.

"What did you say about coming with me?" Hannah asked.

"Oops... I forgot to mention that part," Annie said. "But can you blame me with my 'delicate mental status'? They treat me like I'm going to shatter."

"What?" Toria asked, confused.

"Oh. You know Greg, my ex-husband, you met him at out our wedding. Well, I was pregnant and miscarried, which was bad enough. But he blamed me and left me. I had a full on mental breakdown and went to the loony bin for a few years. I'm better now, though."

"Thank god!" Richard said. "I missed my little sister."

"I'm only like a year younger than you, Richie."

"Don't call me Richie."

"Whatever you want... Richie."

"They'll keep going for hours," Hannah said. "So, why's some local girl gonna get her dreams crushed?"

Toria smiled. "I'm starting a new clothing line, The 'Heavenly' line, and I want locals for models. But the girl's nose is just to big for her to be a decent model. I hate rejecting her outright, but I gotta go with public opinion of beauty or I lose popularity."

End Of Episode Eleven