The Brass Ring (8 page)

"It's not that cold," Jamie reasoned.

"Oh, come on," CC grumbled, her patience worn out. She was hung over, cold, and pleading with her ex-lover to let her talk to her. None of these events were sitting too well with the brooding brunette. "What's the worse that could happen? You’d end up hating me. You already do."

"Yes, I do," Jamie responded as her jaw clenched. "Come in."

CC blew out a sigh of relief as Jamie stepped aside and let her in. Her body brushed slightly against the smaller woman's. She heard the moan escape from Jamie. CC bit down on her bottom lip as she tried to ignore the sudden tingling sensation her body was experiencing. Knowing that Jamie's audible response had been involuntary, she chose to ignore it. Now if she could just get her lower anatomy to do the same, she might just get through the morning with some sense of dignity.

She felt her body warming as the door clicked shut behind her. "I meant what I said," Jamie grumbled as CC turned to her. She couldn't help noticing how absolutely adorable the small blonde looked. Her hair was all rumpled and damp and her sweats hung on her. "I don't want to talk. But it is chilly out. You can hang around here until your sister decides to let you come home. I'm going to bed." Having had her say, Jamie brushed past her and headed up the staircase.

CC stood there with her mouth hanging open. "Could I feel more like a total dufus at the moment?" she muttered as she stood in Jamie's living room. "I could just watch some television," she reasoned. Then her shoulders drooped as she realized that Stevie was right. "Ah, what the hell," she conceded. "Might as well face the music. Even if I'm twelve years too late." Drawing on her last ounce of courage, she climbed the staircase.

Tentatively she stepped into Jamie's bedroom. She found her ex-lover lying face down on the queen-size bed on top of the covers. "Jamie," she began shyly, feeling her courage abandon her.

"I'm in hell," Jamie groaned without lifting her head off the pillow.

"Look, if you don't want to talk, that's fine," CC stated firmly, feeling her courage returning. "But you can listen."

"If I listen to what you have to say, will you let me sleep?" Jamie moaned in disgust. "It's my day off and some guy keeps pounding on my head with a jackhammer."

"Yes," CC reassured her. After all, the same guy was beating on her head.

"Speak," Jamie commanded her.

"That morning I didn't walk out on you," CC began to explain, suddenly feeling better. It felt good to finally tell the one person that had been hurt the most by the unforeseen events that had occurred that day. "I was on patrol. We pulled over a car with a broken taillight." CC’s body tensed as she recalled the terror she had lived through that day. "I never saw the gun," she continued as Jamie lifted her head and stared at her. CC couldn't read the expression in her eyes so she continued. "I was shot twice. It was bad. For weeks I drifted in and out of consciousness. My only clear thoughts were of you. No one knew about you since I was in the closet back then, so no one made an effort to find you. Except for Stevie. She ran away from home when she found out. The story never made the press. The guy was an informant who was about to expose an FBI conspiracy. He ended up dead not long after that. The whole thing was covered up."

CC stood there, waiting for what seemed like an eternity for Jamie to respond. She watched as Jamie's face scrunched up. "Was that before or after Scully and Mulder escaped from the space craft?" Jamie asked her bitterly.

"It's the truth," CC asserted. "By the time I was able to understand what had happened, you were gone."

"Are you under the disillusion that I would buy that load of horse manure?" Jamie spat at her as she climbed off the bed.

CC found herself standing toe to toe with a very angry little blonde. The veins in the younger woman's neck were bulging as her face turned purple. "Who do you think you are talking to?" Jamie snarled as she poked the taller woman in the chest. "I'm not some bimbo you picked up in a bar," Jamie flared as she poked CC once again.

"It's the truth," CC repeated firmly as her body winced from Jamie's assault.

"The truth?" Jamie spat back. "You wouldn't know the truth if it bit you in the ass." She poked CC once again, even harder than her first two attacks. CC could feel the anger welling up inside her.

"Fine. Don't believe me," CC shouted bitterly. "I know what happened. I wasn't the one who ran off and bedded someone else."

"Where do you get off?" Jamie yelled in return.

"You were my first," CC said as she gritted her teeth. "I loved you."

"What?" Jamie uttered in disbelief as her eyes narrowed.

"You weren't the only virgin that night," CC answered in a flat even tone of voice.

Jamie's eyes widened. "That's it," Jamie said in a low harsh tone. "Get out." She pointed to the doorway.

"Jamie." CC drew a breath to steady herself. "I'm not lying."

"Out!" Jamie commanded her firmly as she nudged the taller woman towards the door.

As she continued to guide CC back downstairs and out the doorway, Jamie released a string of obscenities that embarrassed the policewoman. The front door slammed behind her. Once again CC found herself standing outside in the cold morning air. "That went well." She sighed as she approached her doorway. She knocked on her own front door. "Stevie, can I come home now?" she pleaded desperately.

CHAPTER TWELVE

J
AMIE COLLAPSED AGAINST the door and began to sob hysterically. "Why would she say those things?" she cried out to no one. "What if it’s true?" The tears fell harder; nothing made sense. She couldn’t think. She was tired from lack of sleep over the past week. Her body ached from her hangover and she couldn’t recall the last time she had anything to eat. All she knew for certain was that last night, for a few short hours, she’d found herself in CC’s arms.

Her mind argued that it was the last place she should find herself, but her heart disagreed. It felt right. It felt more than right. It felt like it had twelve years ago. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but the pain was still as fresh as the first night she sat up waiting for the phone call that never came. "Could what CC told me be the truth?" she cried out in the emptiness.

The angry pounding on the door rattled through her tired body. "It’s her," she said quickly as she pulled herself to her feet. She wiped her nose on her shirt before opening the door. CC wasn’t standing on the other side. Instead she found a very angry Stevie holding a crying infant.

"Crying?" Stevie asked bitterly. "Good, because so is my sister."

Jamie backed away fearfully from the doorway. The baby cried harder. "You have no idea how hard it was for her to come over here and face you," Stevie continued as she kicked the door close. For the first time in years, Jamie suddenly feared for her life. The infant continued to cry. Jamie looked at the baby. At first she had assumed that it was her mother’s yelling that caused her discomfort. Now her trained eye led her to believe that there was something wrong.

"My sister worshiped the ground that you walked on," Stevie continued. "You broke her heart."

"What’s wrong with the baby?" Jamie asked her quickly.

Stevie just shook her head and stared at her blankly. "What’s wrong with the baby?" Jamie repeated, her professionalism kicking in. Stevie seemed uncertain what to do. "Look," Jamie offered in a calm tone, "you can keep telling me off. I’m a bitch, okay? Now we all agree. What’s wrong with the baby?"

"I don’t know," Stevie choked out. "I’m waiting for her pediatrician to call, but he hasn’t yet."

"Can I take a look at her?" Jamie held out her arms. Seeing the indecision on Stevie’s face, she said, "You can still tell me what a complete jackass I am."

"Deal," Stevie agreed as she handed her daughter over to Jamie.

Jamie pulled a comforter down off the back of the sofa before laying the crying child down. "Hey there, peanut," Jamie cooed to the child. "Not feeling good?"

"CC calls her that," Stevie commented absently.

"My bag is in the kitchen. Would you grab it for me?" Jamie asked.

Stevie returned quickly with the black bag in hand. "How long has she been like this?" Jamie inquired as she began a careful exam.

"She woke up early and was a little fussy," Stevie explained as Jamie continued her exam.

"What’s her name?" Jamie asked as she took the baby’s temperature. "I know. No one likes that part of the exam," she reassured the infant.

"Emma," Stevie informed her. "And you’re still a jerk."

"Hey Emma." Jamie tickled the child. "She has a slight fever. Is CC telling me the truth?"

Jamie peeked into Emma’s ear and her suspicions were confirmed. "How long have you been waiting for her doctor to call?" Jamie inquired.

"All morning," Stevie offered. "And yes, CC told you the truth. She was shot by a guy who was about to rat out a bunch of cops, FBI agents and a certain Southie mob boss. You know the one - elderly gentleman, likes to where a Red Sox’s baseball cap, and no one knows where the hell he is."

Jamie continued a careful exam of Emma’s tired little body. She checked her bag to see if she had her prescription pad and then wrote out a prescription before redressing Emma and handing her back to her mother. "Emma has an ear infection. It’s very common at her age."

"Really?" Stevie relaxed as she cradled her daughter.

"Here this should help." Jamie handed the prescription to Stevie. "I think you should see a pediatrician, I know someone. I could call her if you’d like?"

"Thank you," Stevie said sincerely.

Jamie felt the tears building as she dialed her friend’s number. "She was all alone?" Jamie asked. "At the hospital?" Jamie choked at the thought of CC lying helpless with no one there for her.

"Yes," Stevie responded coldly.

"Sandy, Jamie Jameson . . ." she spoke into the telephone. She explained about Emma and Sandy agreed to see the infant immediately. Jamie then relayed the information to Stevie.

"Thank you for Emma," Stevie said.

"But I’m still a total jackass." Jamie sniffed as her heart shattered. "I didn’t know. Why didn’t someone tell me?"

"No one knew about you," Stevie explained softly. "By the time she found you, it was too late. The day she did find you, you were sucking face with some girl."

"The things I said to her." Jamie whimpered as she brushed the tears out of her eyes. "Do you have a car?"

"Yes, and I know where to go," Stevie confirmed. "What are you going to do?"

"I need to talk to CC," Jamie confessed as she grabbed up her sneakers.

"No kidding." Stevie laughed.

"One question, Stevie," Jamie started carefully. "Who’s little Emma’s Daddy?"

"Long story." Stevie smirked as they started out the front door. "If the two of you haven’t killed one another by the time I get back, I’ll tell you."

"Fair enough."

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

C
C LAY ON HER bed staring up at the ceiling. The last twenty-four hours had been hell on earth. A young girl had died, something that despite her sense of reasoning she felt responsible for. Then she slept with Jamie. Not a bad thing. In fact it was very nice - too nice. She was kicking herself for that as well. She should have been stronger and not let that happen. But there was something about the way Jamie kissed. One touch of her lips and CC was lost, thinking with the wrong part of her anatomy.

The harshness of Jamie’s words hurt her deeply. She knew that the whole thing sounded unbelievable; still she had hoped that the feelings they had once shared would have made a difference. Apparently she was mistaken. CC was just lying there, fighting with the knowledge that Jamie had never cared for her the way she had cared for Jamie. "A part of me still does," CC admitted to the empty room.

A shy knock on the door disrupted her agony. "Come in, Stevie," she called out softly, hoping that the doctor had finally called. The door creaked as it opened slowly. CC sat up to watch it. "What the hell?" she muttered, wondering what her little sister was up to. She felt her body temperature rise slightly. Her crystal blue eyes widened as she watched the petite blonde step shyly into the room.

"It isn’t Stevie," Jamie announced carefully.

"I can see that," CC concurred, a slight bitterness creeping into her voice.

"Stevie took Emma to the doctor," Jamie continued in an uneasy tone as she stared at the floor.

CC started to lift herself off the bed, her head pounding violently from the quickness of her action. "Ouch," she moaned as two hands placed themselves on her shoulders. "I need to go with her," CC protested as Jamie pushed her back down onto the bed.

"She’s already left," Jamie explained as she sat on the edge of the queen-size bed. "I took a look at Emma and it looks like she has an ear infection. I sent Stevie to pediatrician I know and trust."

"Is that serious?" CC asked impatiently. "Ear infections?"

"No," Jamie reassured her. "It’s quite common."

CC lay back down, crossing her arms over her chest. She was trying to understand why was Jamie there. They sat there in a deafening silence. CC stared up at the ceiling as Jamie sat on the edge of the bed with her back to her. "I need to get my car at some point," CC muttered absently in an effort to break the silence.

"Me too," Jamie stammered.

"Why are you here?" CC finally asked as she braced herself for another outburst.

"Stevie took me out to the woodshed." Jamie chuckled slightly, still keeping her back to CC.

"Huh?" CC said as she shook her head. Her movements sent another jolt of pain through her head. "Ouch," she exclaimed as she began to rub her temples. "Never again," she moaned in agony. "Jose Cuervo and I are not friends."

"Stevie told me what happened," Jamie continued, the sadness evident in her voice.

"So did I," CC noted with a hint of bitterness.

"I know," Jamie conceded.