Friday, December 19, 1997

Galilee General Hospital

10:30 PM

"More coffee." Billy handed Lee the cup that he'd gotten from a
nearby vending machine. "You look like you could use it."

"Thanks, Billy." Lee  sipped the coffee, but didn't really
taste it. His head still throbbed-the paramedics had cleaned and
bandaged it the same time they took care of Amanda's wrists, assuring
him that the wound wasn't serious. But Jenna-Lee ran his fingers
through his hair, trying not to think about how delirious Jenna had
been, her flushed skin and glazed over eyes as they'd loaded her into
the ambulance.

She has to be all right, Lee thought fiercely. Had to be, because the
alternative was unthinkable.

"Any news yet?" Billy asked.

"Not yet," Lee said, looking around the ER waiting room. It wasn't
just him, Amanda, Billy and Dotty. There were lots of people, all
wearing the same worried, shell-shocked expressions. As much as Lee
felt for these other people, at the moment all he cared about was one
eight-year old little girl. If she was fine, nothing else would matter.

"Can I get you anything, Amanda?" Billy asked.

Amanda shook her head. "No thanks."

"Amanda you need something," Lee said. "You have to keep up your
strength."

"What I need is for Jenna to be all right," Amanda said. "We should've
pulled her out of that ballet the moment we knew about this. If
anything happens-"

"Amanda you can't blame yourself," Dotty said.

"Well who can I blame?" Amanda snapped. She dropped her forehead down
into her hands. "Mother, I'm sorry-you didn't deserve that."

Lee rubbed his wife's back. "It's okay," he told her. "We're all
feeling a little on edge right now."

"Francine sends her love," Billy said . "She also says that once Jenna gets out of the hospital Amanda owes her a new blouse."

"Same old Francine." Lee managed a faint smile. "How did it go
at the community center?"

"No problem," Billy said. "McIlvaney told us the location of his
headquarters. We have most of the group in custody."

"Most of the group?" Amanda said.

"His wife Grainne's still at large, but we'll find her," Billy said.
"Without McIlvaney, the other members are singing like jaybirds."

"No love lost for their fearless leader, huh?" Lee finished
his coffee, tossing the cup into a nearby trashcan.

"Oh, and Debbie Morgan's threatening a lawsuit," Billy said. "She
claims that the community center may have permanently wrecked her
daughter's career."

"That woman should be thanking someone that at least her daughter's
healthy," Amanda said.

The waiting room door swung open as Dr. Kelford entered.

"Well, Jenna should be just fine once the drug gets out of her
system," he said. "She had a hallucinatory reaction to the sedative,
and the fever that she was running certainly didn't help matters on
that front. We're moving her to a room and we'd like to keep her
overnight-just for observation."

"I don't understand," Lee said. "You're telling us that she doesn't
have encephalitis?"

"Oh she's sick all right," Dr. Kelford said. "But not with Venezuelan
Equine Encephalitis-her blood tests were negative. What Jenna has is
the flu-she's running a temperature of 102 and her muscles are a
little achy. She's had it for almost two days now-she was trying to
medicate herself with children's chewable Tylenol."

"Why didn't she just tell us?" Lee asked.

"She told me that she was worried that you wouldn't let her be in the
ballet if she was sick," Dr. Kelford said. "Jenna thought that if she
could make herself better then you'd never have to know."

"Now who does that remind me of?" Amanda said, casting a sideways
glance at her husband. Lee winced.

"We'll have a long talk with her," he told Dr. Kelford.

"Be gentle," Dr. Kelford said. "I think she's feeling bad enough
already."

SMK SMK SMK SMK

"Amanda you can't blame this on me," Lee said, as they left the
elevator and walked down the hallway towards Jenna's room.

"I never did blame it on you," Amanda said. "All I said was that you
have a tendency to try and solve your problems yourself instead of
asking for help. I think that Jenna takes after you in that way. She
is your daughter, after all."

"She's your daughter too," Lee said.

"Yes," Amanda said. "But when she pulls something like this she's all
yours."

"Mm-hmm," Lee said, stopping for a moment and pulling his wife to face
him. "And how about when she's talking so much and so fast that I
can't get a word in edgewise? Whose daughter would she be then?"

"She would be mine," Amanda said. "I guess she's got a little bit of
both of us, huh?"

"Sounds like a good combination to me," Lee said. Taking Amanda's
hand, he kissed her fingers lightly. "Now- let's go talk to our
daughter."

TBC